"Labor's prohibition-style approach will play straight into the hands of organised crime syndicates"
Timeline:
25 June 2024:
"Globally, the evidence clearly shows that the bans do not work. That is clear on every metric: the scale of the black markets, the rates of vaping amongst children and the fact that the vast majority of adult vapers are using a vape acquired from the black market, not a prescription vape from their pharmacy. These are otherwise every-day, law-abiding Australians accessing vapes on the black market. Australia has been isolated in this approach. Quite simply, it is not an approach that we see anywhere else in the comparable world, and that's because it doesn't work."
"For those wanting to quit smoking by moving on to vapes as a smoking-cessation tool, it is better to have those vapes available to them at the places they typically buy cigarettes, surely—not at the pharmacy. The commonsense solution would be to have them at the same place where they buy cigarettes so they can actually make that active choice: I won't buy that, I'll buy this."
"Labor's prohibition-style approach will play straight into the hands of organised crime syndicates, who are massively profiting from the sale of illegal vapes and the sale of vapes to our children.
We have announced that, if elected, we will take an alternative approach to the government's and crack down on this organised crime that has been allowed to thrive, and we will act to protect Australian children. A coalition government will introduce a strictly regulated retail model for vaping products under the TGA to put a stop to dodgy retailers selling vapes to Australian children with impunity through the rampant black market. This model will include a licensing scheme, prevention campaigns and strong enforcement efforts as part of a sensible approach to keep money out of the hands of criminals while stopping the sale of vapes to children. Our regulated approach will also address the dangerous and unknown chemicals contained in illegal vapes by placing strict requirements on safety and quality"
"the coalition will also provide 10 times more funding towards law enforcement than the government has through a new $250 million law enforcement package."
"Submissions to the inquiry were provided by a wide range of stakeholders and raised some really significant concerns. Notably, the inquiry highlighted how the illicit vaping black market is out of control and thriving in Australia."
"The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners stated Australia is the only country in the world to restrict access to nicotine vaping products on a prescription-only basis. Despite the Australian government being a global outlier, there has been a dramatic increase in youth vaping under this policy.