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Australia will ban single-use disposable vapes, halt imports of non-prescription variations, and prohibit how a lot nicotine e-cigarettes could include.
Australia has introduced a sweeping crackdown on vaping, accusing tobacco firms of hooking the subsequent “technology of nicotine addicts” by intentionally concentrating on youngsters.
Billed because the nation’s largest anti-smoking reforms in a decade, Australia introduced on Tuesday it would ban single-use disposable vapes, halt imports of non-prescription variations, and prohibit how a lot nicotine e-cigarettes could include.
Australia has lengthy been on the vanguard of makes an attempt to stamp out smoking. In 2012, it turned the primary nation to introduce “plain packaging” legal guidelines for cigarettes – a coverage since copied by France, the UK and others.
However lately, Australia has struggled to include the explosion in leisure vaping, significantly amongst youngsters.
“Vaping has turn out to be the primary behavioural situation in excessive colleges. And it’s turning into widespread in main colleges,” Well being Minister Mark Butler mentioned.
“Identical to they did with smoking, Massive Tobacco has taken one other addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added flavours to create a brand new technology of nicotine addicts.”
Folks will nonetheless be allowed to make use of vapes, with a prescription, as a instrument to assist them stop cigarettes.
“Vaping was bought to governments and communities worldwide as a therapeutic product to assist long-term people who smoke stop,” Butler mentioned. “It was not bought as a leisure product – particularly not one for our children.”
Butler additionally introduced Australia will hike taxes on tobacco gross sales by 5 p.c annually over the subsequent three years.
Heavy taxes on tobacco imply Australia already has among the costliest cigarettes on the earth – with a pack of 25 promoting for about 50 Australian {dollars} ($33).
Black market
Knowledge from final 12 months exhibits about 22 p.c of Australians aged 18 to 24 have used an e-cigarette or vaping system at the least as soon as.
Sydney workplace employee Andrew Kohn, 31, mentioned there was a necessity for stricter laws.
“You go by a college throughout lunch hour now and it’s exhausting to see a child who isn’t vaping,” he mentioned.
Although a prescription is required to purchase nicotine vapes in Australia, a thriving unlawful market means they’re available.
Pupil Ruby Lake, in her early 20s, mentioned she had seen a few of her mates turn out to be hooked on e-cigarettes.
“They’re eager to stop, and so they can’t,” she mentioned.
Some international locations have tried to limit vaping, and a few see it as a great way to get people who smoke to kick the behavior.
In April, the UK mentioned as much as a million people who smoke could be inspired to swap cigarettes for vapes, in what was a world first, providing monetary incentives for pregnant girls and offering e-cigarette starter kits to assist.
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