Voters want vapes regulated like alcohol and tobacco according to a damning new poll

Most voters surveyed think the government should change its policy on nicotine vapes.

More than eight in ten voters think that nicotine vapes should be sold in the same way as alcohol and tobacco, according to new poll which has delivered a damning assessment on the Albanese government’s handling of e-cigarettes.

A new Redbridge poll of 1,500 people obtained by The Daily Telegraph has revealed that only seven per cent of voters think the government is doing a “good” or “very good” job managing the regulation of vapes.

Even people who have never vaped believe the government should strictly regulate nicotine vapes rather than ban the sale of e-cigarettes everywhere except pharmacies.

The poll, commissioned by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), comes as Health Minister Mark Butler prepares to introduce legislation designed to more strictly ban the sale of illegal vapes.

Asked what the government should to stop the illegal vaping market, more than half of voters surveyed believe the government should regulate vapes like alcohol and tobacco while restricting sale to kids.

Health Minister Mark Butler last month announced the government had recruited a number of influencers to create content about the dangers of vaping. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Only 25 per cent thought the government should maintain its current plan to ban the sale of vapes except through pharmacies with a prescription.

Overall, 84 per cent of voters agreed that “nicotine vaping products should only be available through licensed retail outlets to adults, the same as alcohol and tobacco products”. Eighty-five per cent of people who said they had never vaped agreed with that statement.

More than two-thirds of voters surveyed said the government’s performance in regulating nicotine vapes had been “poor” or “very poor”.

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A number of shipments of illegal vapes have been seized at the border since Mr Butler’s crack down. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The poll also revealed that almost 90 per cent of voters think vapes should be taxed, to raise revenue similar to the tobacco excise.

AACS CEO Theo Foukkare said the poll proves voters have rejected Mr Butler’s vape plan.

“It’s clear that the overwhelming majority of Australian voters don’t believe vapes are a medical product, and they want the market to be strictly controlled in the same way as alcohol and tobacco,” Mr Foukkare said.

“While comparable countries like New Zealand and the United States are reducing youth vaping rates through strict tobacco-like controls with mandatory restrictions on flavours, nicotine limits and packaging, Australia has been turned into the wild west of black-market activity with criminals selling unregulated vapes designed to target kids online and near schools,” he said.

Illegal vapes are still readily available at tobacconists despite being banned. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

A growing number of Liberal and Nationals MPs have already spoken out against Mr Butler’s proposed vape ban, after Nationals Leader David Littleproud conceded that the former government “got it wrong” by trying to ban nicotine e-cigarettes.

Nicotine vapes are still readily available at tobacconists and some convenience stores despite the importation of disposable vapes being banned since January 1.

Personal importation of vapes has been banned since March 1.

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