Call to ban flavoured vapes, dodgy imports to protect kids

Banning fruity flavours and enforcing plain packaging are among plans being considered to stamp out “skyrocketing” rates of ­vaping among children and adolescents. Have your say in our poll.

Banning fruity flavours and enforcing plain packaging are among plans being considered to stamp out “skyrocketing” rates of ­vaping among children and adolescents.

But experts say any cosmetic changes to vapes will not reverse the trend on their own — urgent action is needed to stop products getting into the hands of children in the first place.

In its submission to a government review of nicotine vaping products, the Minderoo Foundation is calling for stronger border controls to curb the large-scale illegal importation and illegal supply of e-cigarette products.

“The links between kids vaping and taking up smoking are real — we know that non-smokers who vape are three times more likely to take up smoking as non-smokers who don’t vape,” Minderoo spokeswoman Tess Howard said.

“If we don’t do something now, we are going to see another ­generation of Australians addicted to nicotine.”

Submissions close on Monday for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) review which will look at a range of reforms to stop kids accessing vapes, and ensure adults trying to quit smoking have access to quality-controlled nicotine vaping products via prescription.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said it was an important first step, with all state and territory health ministers seeing it as a “priority area to take strong action”.

Experts are worried about a growing number of young Australians who have taken up vaping.

“The former government was frankly asleep at the wheel as vaping rates skyrocketed,” Mr Butler said.

“We need to understand where the current regulatory framework falls short, and what action governments can take to move the dial.”

NSW Health seized more than 166,000 e-cigarette products with an estimated street value of more than $4.6 million from February 2021 to September 2022.

In the past 15 months, Australian Border Force seized more than 508,000 non-compliant nicotine vaping products.

Almost one-third of teens aged 14 to 17 have vaped. Picture: John Appleyard

However, Ms Howard said better regulation was needed around all vaping products, even those without nicotine.

“We know many products which are labelled as non-nicotine actually contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can change the structure and function of the brain,” she said.

“However no e-cigarette is safe — even non-nicotine vapes contain hundreds of chemicals that are known to be toxic.

“That’s why we are calling for nicotine vaping devices to be strictly available through a prescription model from pharmacies.”

Ms Howard said the Generation Vape study found that in NSW in 2021, 32 per cent of teens aged 14 to 17 had vaped. Teens reported purchasing vapes through social media, at vape stores and on websites.

Isaac, 15, told The Sunday Telegraph vapes were easily accessible, with dealers advertising freely on platforms like Snapchat.

“Shops usually ask for ID, but some kids have fake ID,” he said. “But most kids just text a dealer on Snapchat and arrange pick-up.”

Isaac said most teens knew vapes were bad for their health, yet used them because all their friends were.

Flavour, not packaging, was the most important factor in choosing vapes, he said.

NSW Police would not commit to tougher measures to crack down on illegal supply, saying it was largely a health issue.

NSW acting chief health officer Dr Jan Fizzell said the responsibility lay with retailers to ensure they were purchasing or importing quality products that were correctly labelled.

She urged people to report retailers who were selling illegal vapes via the NSW Health website.

She also urged parents and carers to be aware of the dangers of vaping to young people.

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