Australia Bans Recreational Vaping in Nationwide E-Cigarette Crackdown
by Simon Kent
Australia’s left-wing Labor government announced a nationwide ban on recreational vaping Tuesday.
At the same time it is tightening other e-cigarette laws in a huge crackdown on the tobacco industry as it tries to drive teenagers away from smoking in any form.
Canberra wants to see an end to all disposable vapes, which often come in fruity flavours popular with young people, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine levels.
It says it is aiming for the sale of vapes to be confined to helping smokers quit.
Australia already has some of the strongest anti-smoking laws in the world and high rates of taxation on the tobacco product.
The Australian Taxation Office collected some $14.3 billion in tobacco excise for 2020–21 alone.
“Just like they did with smoking, big tobacco has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts,” Health Minister Mark Butler said in a speech announcing the ban at the National Press Club, Sky News Australia reports.