Sandra Sanders/Reuters
Vape pens displayed on the counter at a vape shop in Melbourne.
Brisbane, Australia
CNN
—
Australia has introduced some of the world’s toughest vaping laws, restricting the sale of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to pharmacies, making it even more difficult to buy them.
Starting Monday, people will need to present a doctor’s prescription to a pharmacist to buy e-cigarettes, and flavor choices will be limited to mint, menthol and tobacco.
Disposable e-cigarettes are banned in dozens of countries, but the Australian government says it has introduced “world-leading” legislation by banning the sale of e-cigarettes in shops, petrol stations and other retail outlets.
Australian authorities say the move marks the end of colorful brands and fun flavours that were allegedly a ploy to get kids addicted to nicotine.
“This is a rare opportunity for Parliament to do something truly meaningful and lasting for the health of young Australians,” Health Minister Mark Butler said after Parliament passed the bill.
However, due to the political agreement concluded to secure approval of the law, restrictions will be relaxed in October, with only minors under the age of 18 needing a prescription.
Adults will be able to buy e-cigarettes in pharmacies without a prescription, but the devices may become harder to come by after some major pharmacy chains have vowed to refuse to stock them.
“Pharmacists are health professionals and community pharmacies do not want to provide this potentially harmful and highly addictive product without a prescription,” said Anthony Tassone, national vice president of the Australian Pharmacists Union, which represents more than 5,900 community pharmacies across the country.
The Australian Greens Party does not support the ban or criminalisation of e-cigarettes and had pushed for a change that would allow adults to purchase e-cigarettes without a prescription.
“Drug prohibition has failed, and the Greens are pleased to have made amendments to the bill that will ensure no one will be criminalized for personal possession of vaping products,” Green Senator Jordan Steele-John said in a statement.
Possessing e-cigarettes for personal use is not a crime, but importing or selling them commercially carries heavy fines.
Some fear the new law could create a black market for e-cigarettes, similar to the black market for cigarettes in Australia, which has some of the highest tobacco taxes in the world.
A pack of 20 cigarettes costs about 35 Australian dollars (US$23), significantly more than in the United States or Britain.
And costs are expected to rise further when tobacco taxes are increased by another 5% in September.
Some worry that young e-cigarette users, who have been shut out of the market despite rising cigarette prices, will turn to cigarettes for their nicotine fix.
“The reality is that at the moment e-cigarettes are still cheaper but the change in the law creates uncertainty and may lead people to think, ‘Well, I’m not going to be able to get e-cigarettes, I’ll go back to smoking or start smoking’,” Hester Wilson, an addiction expert at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, told national broadcaster ABC.
Other countries are also grappling with a rise in youth e-cigarette use but are taking different approaches to the problem.
In June, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products, drawing sharp criticism from pediatricians and anti-tobacco groups.
The FDA has also established a task force, in coordination with the Department of Justice, to identify and crack down on the illegal sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in the United States.