"These figures paint a stark picture of a growing public health crisis that needs action at all levels of government."
Timeline:
27 March 2024:
" I rise today to address the urgent need for legislative action in response to the escalating crisis posed by vaping in Australia. The spread of vaping among our youth demands our immediate attention and robust intervention. The Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 presents a crucial opportunity to safeguard the health and wellbeing of Australians, particularly our youngest."
Cassandra Fernando Is Wrong, Here's Why:
Cassandra Fernando MP’s speech is based on flawed assumptions, misinformation, and a misunderstanding of both the risks and benefits of vaping as a tobacco harm reduction tool. Below is a fact-based rebuttal explaining why her arguments are incorrect and misleading.
1. “Vaping is an escalating crisis and a public health emergency.”
The Facts: Vaping Is Not a Public Health Emergency—Smoking Is
✅ Smoking kills 2 in 3 long-term users, leading to 21,000 deaths per year in Australia.
✅ Vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking, according to Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians (UK).
✅ Australia should focus on reducing smoking rather than overhyping youth vaping fears while failing to help adult smokers quit.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s framing of vaping as a “crisis” ignores the fact that smoking remains the biggest preventable cause of death. The real emergency is Australia’s failure to help smokers switch to safer alternatives.
2. “Youth vaping is skyrocketing, with one in five 16- to 17-year-olds vaping.”
The Facts: Youth Vaping Needs Regulation, Not Prohibition
🛑 The claim that one in five 16-17 years olds are vaping is an "ever had a puff" figure, not a daily figure which is less than 4%.
✅ While youth vaping rates have increased, the majority of youth vapers are experimental users, not regular users.
✅ There is no evidence that vaping is leading to a rise in smoking—countries with vaping regulation have seen continued declines in smoking rates.
✅ Youth vaping should be addressed through strict retail controls, education, and enforcement—not outright bans that push vapes into the black market.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s argument exaggerates the problem. While youth vaping should be minimized, responsible regulation is the solution—not prohibition, which fuels the black market.
3. “Vaping is a gateway to smoking.”
The Facts: The “Gateway Effect” Is a Myth
✅ No credible evidence supports the claim that vaping causes smoking—correlation is not causation.
✅ Countries where vaping is accessible (UK, New Zealand) have seen continued declines in youth and adult smoking rates.
✅ Most young people who vape would have experimented with smoking if vapes weren’t available—vaping may actually be diverting them from smoking.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s claim that vaping leads to smoking is not supported by evidence. If vaping caused smoking, we would see smoking rates rise—but they continue to fall.
4. “Vapes contain toxic chemicals like nail polish remover and weed killer.”
The Facts: This Is a Scare Tactic That Ignores Dosage and Real-World Exposure
✅ Regulated nicotine vapes contain propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and food-grade flavorings—ingredients also found in inhalable medicines.
✅ Levels of chemicals in vapes are significantly lower than in cigarette smoke and are not known to cause serious harm at these doses.
✅ Studies showing the presence of “dangerous chemicals” fail to compare them to the much higher levels found in cigarettes.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s fear-mongering about “toxic chemicals” ignores the key principle of toxicology: “The dose makes the poison.” The levels in vapes are not harmful in real-world use.
5. “Vapes are being aggressively marketed to children with bright colors and flavors.”
The Facts: Flavors Help Adult Smokers Quit
✅ Flavors are a key reason why adult smokers successfully switch to vaping.
✅ In countries where flavored vapes are available, smoking rates continue to decline, demonstrating that flavors are a harm reduction tool.
✅ Banning flavors will drive adults back to cigarettes and expand the black market.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s claim ignores that banning flavors will hurt adult smokers trying to quit. Regulation—not prohibition—is the solution.
6. “Banning the sale and import of vapes will stop youth vaping.”
The Facts: Prohibition Has Already Failed in Australia
✅ Since Australia banned the sale of nicotine vapes without a prescription, the black market has exploded.
✅ Unregulated black market vapes are now being sold without age checks, increasing youth access.
✅ Countries with regulated retail access (UK, New Zealand) have better youth vaping controls than Australia.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s approach will make the problem worse—banning legal sales will push young people towards dangerous, unregulated products.
7. “Vaping should be available only as a medical treatment.”
The Facts: The Prescription Model Has Been a Complete Failure
✅ Requiring a prescription for vapes creates unnecessary barriers for smokers trying to quit.
✅ Australia is the only Western country with a prescription model, and it has failed—smoking rates are declining much faster in the UK and New Zealand.
✅ A well-regulated consumer market is a more effective way to reduce smoking than forcing people to go through doctors and pharmacies.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s prescription-only model is outdated and ineffective. Smokers should have legal access to regulated vaping products without medical red tape.
8. “We need strict penalties to stop illegal vaping.”
The Facts: Criminalizing Vaping Fuels the Black Market
✅ Punitive laws push vapers into unregulated, illegal markets where products are more dangerous.
✅ Rather than criminalizing supply, Australia should legalize and regulate the market to ensure safety and age controls.
✅ In countries where vapes are legal, youth access is better controlled because black market supply is minimized.
🛑 Ms. Fernando’s approach will only drive vaping underground, making it harder to regulate and more dangerous for young people.
A More Sensible Approach to Vaping Regulation
Ms. Cassandra Fernando MP’s speech is based on alarmism, misinformation, and a flawed “quit or die” mindset that ignores harm reduction science. Instead of banning vaping, Australia should adopt a sensible, evidence-based policy like the UK and New Zealand, where:
✅ Smoking rates continue to decline.
✅ Youth vaping is controlled through strict retail regulation.
✅ Black markets are minimized.
✅ Adult smokers have legal access to a harm reduction tool.
What Should Be Done Instead?
-
Legalize and regulate vapes with strict age controls (rather than banning them and fueling the black market).
-
Ensure all vape products meet safety standards (so they do not contain harmful chemicals).
-
Educate youth about vaping risks honestly (rather than exaggerating and losing credibility).
-
Keep flavors available for adults to prevent smokers from returning to cigarettes.
-
Treat vaping as a harm reduction tool rather than a public health crisis.
🔥 Banning vaping will not stop it—it will only make it more dangerous. Regulation, not prohibition, is the key to reducing harm and keeping both youth and adults safe.