Nowra vape epidemic: Councillor calls on tougher tobacconist restrictions

A south coast council has voted to request tougher state regulations on tobacconists in their area who many believe are still selling illegal nicotine vapes.

A south coast council battling a vape epidemic – despite the sale of nicotine inhalers becoming illegal – has voted unanimously on tighter state restrictions for stores still selling the items.

Nowra – 170km south of Sydney – has 12 tobacconists, with some locals believing the stores are still be selling vapes, despite the sale of the nicotine inhalers officially becoming illegal in January this year.

Nicotine free vapes remain legal and continue to be sold.

Google Maps reveals there are more than 20 tobacconists in the Shoalhaven region.

The South Coast News contacted nine tobacconists in Nowra to ask if they still sold vapes.

The sale of nicotine vapes was made illegal in January 2024. Picture: File.

Two said they did not sell the items, three said they sold nicotine free vapes and four refused to comment.

Local parents in the Nowra area told this publication they believed some tobacconists in the area were continuing to sell nicotine vapes, despite the new-found laws.

Shoalhaven Councillor Serena Copley. Picture: Supplied.

“My kids see other kids with vapes at school still, so they’re getting them somewhere,” concerned parent Anastasia Woodland said.

“Schools in the area have had to implement rules and even shut toilets at lunch time to stop kids from vaping, whether it’s nicotine vapes or not,” another parent Daren Fleece said.

Shoalhaven Councillor Serena Copley is spearheading the coastal area’s war against the litany of tobacconists in the region.

She said she believed some may still be selling nicotine vapes, with banning laws stating that stores could sell their remaining stock.

“That stock could last years,” she said.

Ms Copley said the federal regulations weren’t good enough.

“We are seeing tobacco stores opening in the Shoalhaven at an alarming rate,” she said.

“It’s an epidemic. All these new stores are within walking distance from schools.”

Ms Copley said if the federal government’s plan wasn’t working, it was council’s responsibility to enforce stronger restrictions.

A motion created by the ward one councillor presented during the June 3 ordinary meeting called on the NSW Government to limit the amount of tobacconists that can open in an LGA and a town’s CBD.

The motion passed unanimously.

“This motion has raised awareness and has now begun a campaign to the state government,” Ms Copley said.

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