t’s no coincidence that the alarming rise in teenage vaping has occurred alongside the explosion in shops selling colourful and cheap devices that look, smell and taste like lollies. The Australian government’s decisive plan to end this easy access to these dangerous and highly addictive vaping products is both welcome and timely.
On paper, Australia has what should be strong regulation to protect young people from vaping products. You must have a prescription from a doctor to legally access nicotine-containing vaping products. However, there are currently only very weak restrictions on non-nicotine vapes. This has allowed vaping product importers and retailers to undermine the prescription-only access laws.