New South Wales to Invest AUD 6.8 Million to Crack Down on Illegal Vaping Sales

The government of New South Wales, Australia, has committed AUD 6.8 million over three years to crack down on illegal vaping sales and expand support for young people addicted to vaping.

News flash: According to information released on September 25 on the official New South Wales government website, the New South Wales government has pledged AUD 6.8 million over three years to combat illegal vaping sales and strengthen support for young people addicted to vaping. 

The state government will allocate AUD 4.3 million over the next three years to strengthen compliance and enforcement, ensuring it meets its responsibilities for the retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and medicinal regulation of vaping products. Another AUD 2.5 million will be allocated over the next 12 months to expand smoking and vaping cessation services for young people, including a new digital platform, enhanced functionality for the iCanQuit platform, and online learning modules for youth services across the state.

The ongoing work of NSW Health highlights the importance of taking further action against illegal vaping sales and establishing related measures to support young people addicted to vaping. 

As it expands compliance and surveillance activities statewide, NSW Health is continuing its crackdown on retailers illegally selling nicotine vaping products. During the week beginning September 5, 2023, NSW Health inspectors carried out a targeted operation against illegal vaping. These raids resulted in the seizure of 23,247 vaping devices with an estimated value of more than AUD 695,000. 

The number of illegal vaping products seized in New South Wales is now on track to more than double the 2022 total. From January 1 to June 30, 2023, NSW Health seized a record 187,000 products, up from 61,000 during the same period last year.

From January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, NSW Health conducted more than 5,000 inspections and seized about 369,000 nicotine vaping devices and e-liquids, with an estimated market value of more than AUD 11.8 million. Retailers prosecuted for selling nicotine-containing vaping products face severe penalties, including up to six months in prison. 

As warnings are being issued to retailers, the University of Wollongong has also conducted a new study funded and commissioned by NSW Health to test nicotine and other toxic chemicals in vaping products that are known to be harmful to health.

The samples included 428 vaping devices seized from retailers and 322 devices handed in by schoolchildren in Sydney. Of the 750 vaping devices analyzed in the study, 737 were found to contain high concentrations of nicotine. Most of them did not list nicotine as an active ingredient.

Of particular concern, 30 of the devices contained at least one substance known to be harmful to health, including toxic chemicals banned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration from legal nicotine vaping products, such as ethylene glycol, which is also used in antifreeze.