Still Failing in Australia
The Australian approach to vaping is categorically failing, according to the Australian Association of Convenience Stores
-
by Dave Cross
Share on:
The Australian approach to vaping is categorically failing, according to the Australian Association of Convenience Stores. The Association says the anti-vaping laws are introducing a whole new generation to black market crime. The announcement comes as more stores are being bombed and arch anti-harm reduction campaigner Professor Emily Banks admits that she can’t provide a at parliamentary inquiry with examples of previously claimed vaping-related deaths.
The new RedBridge Group research, commissioned by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, reveals:
- Australian Mums are extremely concerned about the government’s failure to control vapes and overwhelmingly want the adoption of a proven regulatory model like alcohol and tobacco.
- 70 per cent of voters believe Australia’s weak vaping laws are normalising interactions between young Australians and criminals.
- 82 per cent of voters support regulating vapes for adults only in the same way as tobacco sold by licensed retailers
- 75 per cent of voters agree or strongly agree that banning the retail sale of vaping products to adults has not been successful in stopping children getting access to vapes.
- 71 per cent of voters agree or strongly agree that Australia should adopt a similar regulatory regime for vapes through licensed retail outlets such as NZ, the UK, the EU and the USA.
The damming results were found through focus group research of parents and an online survey of 1,518 voters undertaken by Redbridge Research Group in April 2024.
This research finds that even though three-quarters of Australians believe that banning vapes has not been successful in stopping children from getting access to vapes, the Australian Government is continuing with the existing unworkable vaping prohibition laws.
For the last two years, the Australian Government has completely failed to control the nicotine vaping black market, with millions of cheap, unregulated, child-targeted vapes flooding into Australia and being sold by black market criminals each week, AACS CEO Theo Foukkare said.
He continued: “Health Minister Mark Butler is solely to blame for Australia’s youth vaping crisis and the rampant black market that he has created, which has already resulted in over 70 fire-bombings and multiple homicides throughout our communities.
“Strictly regulating and controlling vaping products for adults-only has been shown to reduce youth vaping rates by more than 65% in the United States and 19% in New Zealand, 1 yet the Health Minister continues to double down on his prohibition failure.
Australia can’t afford more of the same, it’s time the Government strictly regulates vaping products as an adult-only product like alcohol and tobacco with severe restrictions to remove all youth-targeted flavours and packaging.
AACS is urging all senators to oppose Labor’s legislation that will only worsen Australia’s youth vaping crisis and push the Government to adopt the same strict regulatory model for alcohol and tobacco that has been proven to protect adult consumers with regulated products while reducing underage access.”
Australia’s approach is feeding a crime wave – it needs to stop listening to bigotted cranks like Emily Banks and Simon Chapman.
References:
Photo Credit:
Photo by Craig Manners on Unsplash
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
