Experts mock Australia's e-cigarette regulation: cigarettes need no prescription, but products 95% l

According to reports today, on May 7, foreign media said Australian experts are divided over whether the proposed new e-cigarette reforms will curb the rise in vaping among young Australians or instead encourage a return to smoking.

Health Minister Mark Butler this week announced a major crackdown on e-cigarettes, including a ban on popular disposable e-cigarettes and a ban on importing non-prescription e-cigarette products into Australia.

Adults would only be able to buy e-cigarettes from pharmacies with a prescription, rather than from retail stores, and e-cigarettes would only be sold in plain packaging and flavors.

Butler described e-cigarettes as the biggest loophole and the number one gap in Australia’s history.

He said, “As the nation’s health minister, I am simply unwilling to allow this product to become normalized.”

The move has been welcomed by health organizations including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, and the Public Health Association of Australia.

However, not everyone is convinced the reforms will work as the government intends.

Joe Kosterich, chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, said the reforms would cut off a pathway for smokers trying to quit, while failing to stop children from accessing addictive nicotine products.

He said: “While some of these health organizations are congratulating each other, people who are genuinely trying to quit smoking, or who have successfully quit through e-cigarettes, will suffer.”

“Teen vaping is already illegal. You can’t make it more illegal than it already is. If vaping products are pushed onto the black market, the black market will only grow stronger because of these measures.”

Dr. Kosterich urged the government to reconsider its prescription-based approach and instead adopt a stance similar to New Zealand’s, which supports smokers switching to e-cigarettes while discouraging non-users of tobacco products from starting.

However, Dr. Kosterich’s argument has been challenged by other experts, who say these measures will help prevent further growth in youth vaping.

Courtney Barnes, a researcher at the University of Newcastle, said that although e-cigarettes were introduced as a tool to help adults quit smoking, they have become a means of getting young people hooked on tobacco products.

She said: “While the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes are still emerging, research shows they can cause acute lung injury, poisoning, burns, and inhalation toxicity.”

“Particularly among young people, the risks to brain development from nicotine exposure—a common ingredient in these devices—are especially concerning.”

Dr. Barnes believes teenagers can easily obtain illegal e-cigarettes from convenience stores, which is why they should only be sold in pharmacies.

According to Dr. Kosterich, the decision to make e-cigarettes available only in pharmacy settings is illogical because it would make them harder to obtain than regular cigarettes, which are far more harmful.

He cited a 2016 report by the Royal College of Practitioners that found the harm from inhaling e-cigarettes was only 5% of the harm caused by smoking.

“You don’t need a doctor’s appointment to buy cigarettes, so why should you need one to access an option that is 95% less harmful?” he said.

Although e-cigarettes are important in supporting smokers trying to quit, RMIT University chemistry professor Oliver Jones said it is important to note that they are not simply a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes, despite how they are often portrayed.

He said e-cigarette products, including those that claim to be nicotine-free, often contain other ingredients.

He said: “E-cigarette products on the market have also been found to contain a variety of other potentially harmful chemicals not listed on the label.”

He believes some people may be driven back to conventional cigarettes; however, the new government policy is a step in the right direction, though much more work still needs to be done.

He said, “I think there is strong evidence that the current approach is not really working.”

“Implementing minimum quality standards and limiting e-cigarette sales to pharmacies will not solve the problem, but these measures can at least help people have confidence in what is in the products they buy—provided the rules are enforced.”