Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January 2024, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children, days after New Zealand scrapped its world-leading smoking ban in order to pay for tax cuts.
New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied in the country will also be introduced, amid a broader push to phase out recreational vaping completely.
Vaping has been marketed as a way to quit smoking, but Australia’s health minister says it has created a “new generation of nicotine dependency”.
It has been illegal for any Australian to purchase or import e-cigarettes or nicotine vapes without a doctor’s prescription since 2021 – yet despite those restrictions rates of addiction have continued to skyrocket.
A study from the University of Sydney earlier this year found that over a quarter of teenagers aged 14-17 had vaped, while research from Australia’s Cancer Council charity found that nine out of 10 teenagers in the same age group found it easy to access nicotine vapes, says the BBC.
“All Australian governments are committed to working together to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people,” said Mark Butler, the federal health minister who is leading the ban.
In May, the Australian government signalled its intention to phase out the use of single-use vapes, but until now it had provided no concrete timeline. The import ban on disposable vapes will start on 1 January, and that by March refillable non-therapeutic vapes will also be banned from entering the country.
Importers and manufacturers supplying therapeutic vapes will also have to comply with tighter government regulation concerning the flavours, nicotine levels, and packaging of their products.
