Australia cracks down on e-cigarette market

E-cigarettes were once considered a "safe substitute" for traditional cigarettes, but some studies have shown that in addition to nicotine, their e-cigarettes also contain carcinogens such as formaldehyde and nitrosamines. When heated, these substances can be inhaled into the body. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said there was not enough evidence to support the claim that "e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes."

However, e-cigarettes are popular among young people. Multinational agencies, including the FDA, have introduced regulatory and restrictive measures against e-cigarettes. Recently, Australia has hit hard.

According to a British Reuters report, Australia will ban all disposable e-cigarettes, stop importing over-the-counter cigarettes, require e-cigarette products to use pharmaceutical packaging, require manufacturers to reduce the nicotine content in their products, and limit the taste, color and composition of certain products. .

The Australian government stated that this is one of the most comprehensive tobacco regulatory initiatives in the country over the years, aiming to limit the use of e-cigarettes, thereby "reducing smoking and eliminating e-cigarettes".

The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care said in a statement that the Australian federal government will work with states and territories to stop the sale of e-cigarettes in convenience stores and other retail establishments, "while also making it easier for people to obtain prescriptions for legal therapeutic use".

According to the US "New York Times", e-cigarettes containing nicotine are currently only available by prescription in Australia, but they can be found everywhere on the black market.

In 2022, a study by the Australian National University found that teenagers who use e-cigarettes are three times more likely to be addicted to traditional cigarettes than others. "Nicotine use in children and adolescents can lead to lifelong addiction, difficulty concentrating, and learning difficulties," the researchers said.

"I want e-cigarettes to go back to what they were invented for and become a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit smoking." Australian Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler said in a speech, "We are told that e-cigarettes are a way to quit smoking." road, not a smoking road.”

In particular, Butler said the government wanted to "completely eliminate the idea that e-cigarettes are a recreational product, especially for kids".

"It is my goal to hit this market," he said.

According to the New York Times, New Zealand has gone even further in anti-smoking, and the country has banned the sale of cigarettes for life for people born after 2008. Australia is poised to follow the lead of its neighbors in introducing a "new national framework" aimed at reducing daily smoking rates among Australians.

On May 9, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers presented the federal government's annual budget to Parliament, showing that the framework budget is A$737 million, calling for a 5% annual increase in tobacco taxes, effective September 1, which will Add $3.3 billion in revenue over 4 years. Butler said the government would invest the money in the national health system, including a new national lung cancer screening program, cancer care services for Indigenous groups and plans to reduce Aboriginal vaping and smoking.

Butler stressed that the plans were focused on "removing the significant health risks facing Australia's youngest generations".

Nicole Li, an adjunct professor at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research at Curtin University in Australia, said she was skeptical the approach would have the impact on the black market that regulators hoped. A shortage of primary care doctors makes it less likely many people will get a prescription for e-cigarettes, which will lead more people to an already thriving black market.

"We want to reduce the use of e-cigarettes and people to use them to quit smoking," Nicole Lee told the New York Times. cigarette)."