Popular Adelaide YouTuber, Vaping Bogan, leaves Australia over federal government ban on vapes

Popular YouTuber Vaping Bogan has decided to call it quits on Australia and take his family to the UK after government changes to vaping laws. Here’s why.

A popular Adelaide YouTuber has officially left Australia over a federal government ban on vapes and has plans to move his family overseas next month.

Samuel Parsons, better known online as Vaping Bogan, announced his intentions to leave his home in Adelaide to his 186,000 subscribers in January this year and has moved to the UK where his wife is a dual-citizen.

“I’ve been in the UK for the last three months since the import ban in (Australia) came into effect so I could continue making reviews for my audience,” he told The Advertiser.

“I’m just about to head back … to get the family and we’ll all be making the move in July.”

He said the move was motivated by the government ban on importing vape products which meant he could no longer receive devices to review or prototypes of the products he designs.

“Everything I do is gone if I stay in Australia,” he said.

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

He is moving with his wife and two kids aged 13 and eight.

Samuel Parsons, known as Vaping Bogan, has amassed a huge social media following creating vaping content. Picture: Supplied

Mr Parsons said the government’s ban was a “terrible decision”.

“Australia has become a nanny state,” he said.

“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.”

Mr Parsons said the Australian government’s revenue from tobacco tax, which is approximately $14b a year, is the reason they haven’t made smoking less accessible.

“They really don’t care about public health otherwise they wouldn’t make vaping harder to access and leave smoking untouched,” he said.

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

Samuel will be moving his family to the UK in July following the federal governments decision to ban the import of vapes. Picture: Facebook

Samuel has called Australia a “nanny state”. Picture: Supplied

“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 the UK’s plan to ban single-use vapes would not affect him as he does not review them.

“I’m not concerned the UK would do anything like Australia given the NHS and cancer councils actively promote vaping to smokers,” he said.

A health and aged care department spokesperson said vaping reform was key to its commitment to address the threat of tobacco and nicotine addiction and “maintain Australia’s hard-fought success in tobacco control”.

“Both tobacco products and vapes pose risks to health. The safest approach is not to use either,” they said.

“We know young vapers who have never smoked are more likely to take up tobacco smoking than young people who have never vaped.”

Vaping can lead to seizures, addiction, death and even when labelled nicotine-free may contain nicotine as well as other harmful chemicals, according to a 2022 systematic review of the global evidence on electronic cigarettes.

Originally published as Popular Adelaide YouTuber, Vaping Bogan, leaves Australia over federal government ban on vapes