25 June 2024: 

"I wholeheartedly support this bill, because fundamentally it is about protecting young Australians from the dangers of nicotine and the harms of addiction. Those harms are real, they are present and they are hurting young people in Australia and their families.

 

At the outset I want to say to every single member of this chamber: If you had an opportunity today to step back to the 1930s and to regulate tobacco differently, would you do that? If you had a chance to take action that would protect generations of Australians from the devastation and harm of smoking, would you do that?"

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Marielle Smith Is Wrong, Here's Why:

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Senator Marielle Smith’s speech supporting the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 contains several misleading claims and inaccuracies about vaping. Below is a fact-based rebuttal, supported by evidence from scientific research, public health organizations, and harm reduction experts.

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1. “Vaping is hooking a new generation of young Australians to nicotine addiction.”

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The Facts: Youth Vaping vs. Smoking

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• The claim that vaping is creating a new generation of nicotine-addicted youth is not supported by real-world data. In fact, studies indicate that regular vaping among never-smokers is rare.

• Most young people who try vaping do so experimentally and occasionally. Regular use is largely confined to current or former smokers, suggesting vaping is not a primary gateway to nicotine addiction​.

• The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and ASH UK state that youth vaping has contributed to a decline in smoking rates and does not significantly lead to long-term nicotine dependence​​.

• Data from the UK, Canada, and New Zealand suggest that vaping displaces smoking rather than acting as a gateway​.

2. “The only demographic increasing smoking rates in Australia is young people, because of vaping.”

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The Facts: Smoking Rates Are Declining

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• This claim is demonstrably false. Youth smoking rates have been declining in countries where vaping is widely available.

• In England, where vaping is encouraged as a harm reduction tool, youth smoking has continued to fall, contradicting the gateway theory​.

• A study published in Australia found that frequent vaping by non-smoking teens remains very uncommon and that vaping is largely used as an alternative to smoking​.

• The National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) states:

   

  “While we must take action to prevent underage vaping, the priority remains reducing smoking rates, which cause far greater harm”​.

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3. “We know the evidence around vaping is trending in a way that shows us it is not safe.”

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The Facts: Vaping Is Far Safer Than Smoking

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• The UK NHS, Public Health England, and the Royal College of Physicians all state that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking​​​.

• Unlike cigarettes, vapes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, the two main killers in smoking-related diseases​.

• Cancer Research UK confirms that e-cigarettes do not contain cancer-causing tobacco and that no confirmed cases of vaping-related cancer exist​.

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4. “Nicotine is insanely difficult to break an addiction from.”

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The Facts: Nicotine Alone Is Not the Problem

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• Nicotine itself is not the primary cause of smoking-related harm—it is the combustion of tobacco that causes disease​.

• Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been safely used for decades in gums, patches, and sprays, and nicotine vapes are an effective alternative to cigarettes​.

• Studies show that nicotine dependence from vaping is generally lower than from smoking​.

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5. “Big Tobacco is behind vaping, targeting young people.”

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The Facts: Vaping Is a Threat to Big Tobacco

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• The claim that vaping is a Big Tobacco conspiracy is misleading.

• Major tobacco companies initially resisted vaping because it threatened cigarette sales​.

• Independent vape businesses pioneered the industry before Big Tobacco entered the market.

• Vaping is currently driving smoking rates down, which is why the tobacco industry has only recently started investing in vaping to remain profitable​.

• In countries like New Zealand and the UK, where regulated vape sales are allowed, smoking rates have dropped significantly, proving that harm reduction policies work​.

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6. “This bill isn’t going after vapers—it’s stopping the supply of vapes.”

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The Facts: Prohibition Strengthens the Black Market

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• Australia’s prescription-only vape model has fueled an unregulated black market, where youth access to illegal, high-nicotine, and potentially unsafe products is thriving​.

• The UK and New Zealand models of regulated retail sales for adults have been more effective in controlling youth access​.

• Banning legal sales of nicotine vapes will only drive vapers back to smoking, as seen in Australia when previous restrictions were introduced​.

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7. “Vapes look like highlighters and come in bubblegum flavors to hook kids.”

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The Facts: Flavors Help Adult Smokers Quit

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• Flavors play a critical role in helping adult smokers switch from cigarettes to vaping.

• Restricting flavors makes vaping less appealing to adult smokers, reducing its effectiveness as a cessation tool​.

• In regulated markets, age verification and marketing restrictions prevent child-targeted advertising​.

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8. “Nicotine withdrawal impacts young people's mental health.”

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The Facts: Vaping Can Be a Mental Health Benefit for Smokers

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• Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of poor mental health outcomes due to its effects on stress and depression​.

• The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) supports vaping as a harm reduction tool, especially for people with mental illness, who are disproportionately affected by smoking​.

• Nicotine withdrawal is much milder in vaping than in smoking, as vapers can control their intake and gradually reduce nicotine levels​.

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9. “If we could regulate cigarettes in the 1930s, we would. This is our moment.”

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The Facts: Smoking and Vaping Are Not the Same

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• The comparison between vaping and smoking is misleading.

• Cigarettes are combustible tobacco products that kill up to two-thirds of long-term users​.

• Vaping does not involve combustion, meaning harm is dramatically reduced​.

• The Royal College of Physicians states that discouraging vaping in adult smokers will cost lives​.

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A More Effective Approach:

Senator Smith’s speech relies on fear-based rhetoric rather than scientific evidence. Instead of prohibition, Australia should adopt a regulated, evidence-based vaping policy, as seen in the UK, New Zealand, where:

• Smoking rates continue to fall.

• Youth vaping is controlled through proper retail regulation.

• Black markets are minimized.

• Adult smokers have legal access to a harm reduction tool.

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By banning vapes, Australia risks increasing youth access to unregulated products, strengthening the black market, and forcing smokers back to deadly cigarettes​.

The best policy is a strictly regulated retail model that allows adults access to legal nicotine vapes, prevents youth access, and reduces smoking rates while eliminating illicit sales​.

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