What to Know About Australia ’s Disposable Vape Ban

Australia will ban the importation of disposable vapes starting Jan. 1, the government announced on Tuesday, citing concerns of young people becoming addicted to nicotine. Plans for an import ban on nonprescription vaping products were first announced in May, as part of a broader set of legislation aimed at cracking down on the vape industry and stamping out recreational vaping, which authorities have identified as a brewing public health crisis. Here’s what you need to know about Australia’s imminent ban on disposable vapes, along with other restrictions to come. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Why the ban on disposable vapes? While vapes were initially marketed as a way to help long-term smokers quit, they have ended up “being used to recruit a new generation to nicotine addiction,” Australian health minister Mark Butler said at a press conference on Tuesday. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in Australia, killing about 20,000 people in the country every year, according to authorities. Australia has strict tobacco laws, and has seen smoking prevalence decline steadily in the last few decades thanks to increased tobacco taxes and anti-smoking legislation. But authorities are concerned that vaping is a new gateway to smoking, saying that there’s “strong and consistent evidence” that youths who vape are three times more likely to start smoking tobacco. Butler added that about one in four Aus...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Australia Source Type: news