Importing disposable vapes to be banned in Australia from next year

Importing disposable vapes will no longer be allowed in Australia from January 1 under new federal government rules to prevent young people from developing the habit.

It is one of several measures planned for 2024 that aim to make Australia the first country in the world to restrict nicotine vaping to people with a valid prescription.

Health Minister Mark Butler is focused on stopping the lucrative vaping black market, with millions of devices being sold to young Australians online or under the counter in some stores.

It follows a leading Australian vaping advocate calling for an urgent review of the government’s approach to regulating vaping across the country, claiming the current approach is leading to China staging a ‘reverse opium war’.

Health authorities have routinely called for better regulation of the growing crisis, with NSW Health this month linking a fatal overdose to black market vape juice refills.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has proposed some of the toughest laws in the world to crack down on unregulated vaping products. He gives states sweeping powers to ban the import of e-cigarettes or vape products from next year.

But Brian Marlow, director of Legalize Vaping Australia, claims Mr Butler’s actions “single-handedly” created “the largest black market in Australia’s history”.

He alleged that more than 100 million illegal, unregulated vape products without ingredient standards had been smuggled into the country from China and sold on the black market.

“That the Albanian government thinks it can solve this crisis with a ban on recreational vaping for adults and a doubling down on the failed prescription-only ban model is completely disconnected from reality and community expectations,” said the Mr Marlow.

“China is taking advantage of Mark Butler’s weakness by using tactics that can only be described as a reverse opium war.”

Earlier this month, more than 30 tonnes of vapes falsely claimed to be nicotine-free were seized by the Australian Border Force and the medical regulator.

In October alone, more than 400,000 individual vaping products were seized in a joint campaign by the ABF and the Therapeutic Goods Administration to crack down on air cargo and international mail imports.

About 376,000 items, or 92 percent of the seized goods, were illegal and at least 68 percent were disposable vapes from brands that previously did not meet minimum safety and quality standards.

The loot had an estimated street value of $11 million.