‘Nanny state’: YouTuber who fled Australia takes new swipe

An Aussie YouTuber has revealed the surprising reason he fled the country to live in the UK, and why he believes Down Under is a “nanny state”.

A YouTuber has followed through with his decision to flee Australia over the federal government’s ban on vapes, branding the country a “nanny state”.

Samuel Parsons, who reviews vaping products online as the ‘Vaping Bogan’, first announced his intention to leave the country back in January, after he was left frustrated over the government’s crackdown.

The Adelaide local has now spent the last three months in the UK, where he’s continued to review vape products. He plans to return to Australia briefly before moving to the UK permanently with two children and wife, who is a dual citizen, in July.

“I will only return when things change and allow adults to make their own choices about what they put in their body,” Mr Parsons told The Advertiser.

Samuel Parsons has spent the last month in the UK after the government introduced its ban on vapes. Picture: Facebook

He will briefly head back to Australia before his family make the move to the UK next month. Picture: Supplied

It comes after the government introduced sweeping legislation to crack down on the sale and use of vapes in January, banning the importation of disposable single use vapes into Australia.

Further amendments were made to the law in March to ban the importation of non-therapeutic-classed goods.

Mr Parsons slammed the ban as a “terrible decision”, arguing “Australia has become a nanny state”.

“Vaping is more accessible in … Russia and China than it is in Australia right now and that says a lot. We are no longer a free country. Prohibition has never worked on any level,” he told the publication.

Mr Parsons accused the government of making it more difficult to access vapes while leaving cigarettes “untouched”.

“Why do people need a prescription to access vaping yet you can go into any store and buy cigarettes?”

The YouTuber suggested the ban will only increase sales on the black market.

“When the black market is bigger than it was before the ban and the youth vaping rates haven’t declined these politicians will be left with egg on their face.

“They will destroy the hundreds of legitimate vape businesses trying to help people get off combustible tobacco and only make the problems of youth vaping and unregulated vape products even worse.”

Mr Parson said he does not review single use vapes so the UK’s plan to ban those products would not affect him.

The importation of disposal vapes was banned in January. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty

Mr Parsons began making videos about different vape products and emerging trends in the market after he quit smoking with the help of vapes almost a decade ago.

In a statement on its website, the TGA states regulations around the importation and supply of vapes are “designed to protect Australians, particularly young people, from the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence while ensuring vapes remain available to patients with a prescription, where clinically appropriate”.

It also notes a range of smoking cessation medicines available in Australia which have been approved by the TGA and do not have the same health risks as vapes.

“There are currently no therapeutic vapes that have been evaluated by the TGA and included in the ARTG for smoking cessation or the management of nicotine dependence.”

Mr Parsons now has over 186,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 67,00 on Instagram.

In a video announcing his decision to leave in January, the YouTuber said he was ‘devastated that it’s come to this’.

“I’m going to have to leave my mum, dad and sister,” he said at the time.

“I really have no choice but to f***ing leave Australia, if I want to continue doing what I love, which is making content and helping people quit smoking.

Mr Parsons added Britain was much more progressive when it comes to vaping.

“I’ve made the pretty tough decision of having to leave this beautiful country and go somewhere that does believe vaping is a healthier alternative and does encourage smokers to access those products and doesn’t make it f***ing hard.”

Originally published as ‘Nanny state’: YouTuber who fled Australia takes new swipe