Has Australia’s Vaping Policy Failed? Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocate Says 99% Have Turned to the Bl

Fiona Patten, a former member of the Victorian Parliament in Australia, believes that the Australian government has not genuinely implemented tobacco harm reduction (THR).

[Two Supremacy reported from Seoul, South Korea] On the afternoon of September 19, the first discussion of the 2023 GTNF, titled "The Consumer is King," was held at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul, featuring five tobacco industry professionals, including Samrat Chowdhery, Clarisse Virgino, Alex Clark, Fiona Patten, and Matthew Drodge. Among them, Patten from Australia expressed her belief that the Australian government has not genuinely implemented tobacco harm reduction (THR).

Patten served as a member of the Victorian Parliament from 2014 to 2022, focusing on social reform issues, including medical cannabis, reducing drug harm (including tobacco), criminal justice reform, and the separation of church and state. After leaving her position as a parliament member, Patten has been passionate about promoting tobacco harm reduction, but she has been disappointed with her country's approach.

During this discussion, Patten, who was in Australia, attended via video link. Addressing the live audience and guests, she bluntly stated that the current tobacco harm reduction policies implemented by the Australian government have problems, which has led to 99% of Australians purchasing e-cigarettes from the illegal market. 

Fiona Patten | Source: Two Supremacy 

Two Supremacy previously reported that the current policies on e-cigarettes in Australia were also discussed at the GFN forum.

In June 2023, Dr. Carolyn Beaumont, a general practitioner in Australia and founder of MedicalNicotine, spoke at the 2023 Global Nicotine Forum (GFN), discussing the consequences of Australia's ban on non-prescription e-cigarettes.

Beaumont believes that after Australia implemented a prescription e-cigarette system, it has not been able to eliminate the use of non-prescription e-cigarettes.

She estimates that illegal e-cigarettes account for 80% of all e-cigarette usage, and nearly 100% of usage is among young people. Beaumont and other scholars elaborated on Australia's regulatory failures regarding e-cigarettes, suggesting that more effective methods are needed to address this issue.

Dr. Carolyn Beaumont | Source: Two Supremacy 

In fact, the Australian government has tightened its e-cigarette policies starting in 2023. In May, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler announced that the government would ban the import of non-prescription e-cigarette products. It will also establish minimum quality standards, including restrictions on e-cigarette flavors, (packaging) colors, and other ingredients; adopt pharmaceutical-like packaging, reduce nicotine concentrations and capacities; and explicitly prohibit disposable e-cigarettes.

In September, Butler stated that stricter laws and regulations would be submitted to combat both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. He indicated that tobacco control legislation is the "key" next step in combating tobacco and nicotine addiction, aiming to reduce the national smoking rate to 5% by 2030. To eliminate e-cigarettes, advertising restrictions will be imposed.

However, the Australian central government's strict policies on e-cigarettes have not been able to stop the rampant smuggling of e-cigarettes, with Australian law enforcement agencies continuously seizing illegal e-cigarettes in recent months.

• On June 28, Western Australia seized e-cigarettes worth a total of 1 million Australian dollars, totaling 17,000 units.

• On July 27, Victoria police stated that during a raid on a business on Swanson Street, they seized over 25,000 units of nicotine e-cigarette e-liquid and 2,500 packs of illegal tobacco cigarettes. The police stated that these items were valued at approximately 800,000 Australian dollars.

• On August 14, the Western Australia health department seized 15 tons of e-cigarettes totaling 300,000 units, estimated to be worth 10 million Australian dollars. Additionally, over 10 tons of pods were seized. This is reportedly the largest single seizure of e-cigarettes in the state and the country’s history.

• On September 5, more than 150 police officers in Queensland seized over 835,000 Australian dollars in cash, over 8 million cigarettes, and approximately 3.74 tons of bulk tobacco leaves valued at about 1.8 million Australian dollars, along with 60,000 e-cigarettes worth about 1.8 million Australian dollars.

Patten disagrees with the current Australian government policies on e-cigarettes. She believes that this affects the harm reduction function of e-cigarettes, stating that now "organized crime is the way all e-cigarettes are handled in Australia." 

Patten calls on consumers to take action, saying, "As consumers, we should let the government know this to promote policy progress."