Will new vaping laws feed a new addiction?

New vaping laws that are being introduced today, October 1, will change the e-cigarette industry. 

Under new legislation, people will no longer be available to legally buy nicotine vaping products without first getting a prescription for the product as a smoking cessation tool. 

Other than pharmacies, it will be illegal for any Australian retailers, including vape stores, to sell nicotine vaping products, though they will be able to continue selling flavours and non-nicotine vaping products. 

So far, existing federal legislation has provided a loophole allowing the unregulated importation and illegal sale of vaping products or ‘e-cigarettes’.

The popular alternative to traditional cigarettes remains a high concern for health experts, as the long-term effects of vapes continue to be clouded in mystery, yet in Australia, vape sales are booming. 

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President Dr Omar Khorshid said that enough harm has been recognised to require prevention from children and public areas. 

“Vaping is not the risk-free version of smoking that some would have us believe. It is addictive, is associated with proven harms and we know that if nicotine gets into the hands of young children and is ingested, it is highly toxic and can be fatal in very small amounts,” said Dr Khorshid. 

Between 2015 and 2019, the use of country’s e-cigarettes by young people increased by 9 per cent. 

While the impacts of this vaping epidemic are unknown, nominating them as a prescription-based alternative to cigarette smoking offers insight into the perceived risks between the two products. 

Due to the nicotine within the product, they aren’t the first line of defence when quitting smoking. 

Still, the law change is a progressive move to acknowledging that a ‘cold-turkey’ approach, instantly cutting out nicotine, isn’t always the most effective way to treat addiction. 

With a cult following from young Australians, the major law change to the availability of nicotine vapes raises questions as to what the nationwide cut-off will look like for young people, and if it will be a catalyst for underground trading in the industry. 

The public response will likely draw well needed attention to a generation of addiction to what has become the new smoking. 

According to data, a high 57 per cent of young Australians aged 18-24 didn’t begin vaping as an alternative to cigarettes, but ‘out of curiosity’.

Dr Khorshid says that more needs to be done for these laws to be implemented effectively, including national safety-monitoring to gauge any residual harms faced by the community. 

“Australia has led the world in measures to reduce smoking in the community. We must not turn this victory into a catastrophic defeat by creating a new generation of nicotine addicted vapers and permitting the tidal wave of harm to children that has been seen overseas.”