27 March 2024: 

" So this is a time for us to listen to the kids—not just to those who think it's going to be a little bit inconvenient to get along to a GP and get a script. Yes, it may be, and it may put more pressure on those systems, and we're doing everything we can to make that process as simple as possible.​ The Commonwealth has committed $25 million to the Australian Border Force and nearly $57 million to the Therapeutic Goods Administration over the next two years to work on this & we've committed an additional $29.5 million in funding to increase vaping and smoking cessation support"

​

More here >>

​

Susan Templeman Is Wrong, Here's Why:

​

Susan Templeman MP’s speech is filled with misinformation, moral panic, and flawed assumptions that ignore the science behind vaping and harm reduction. Below is a fact-based rebuttal that corrects her errors and highlights the dangers of her approach.

​

 

1. “Vaping is not about health, it's about industry spin.”

​

The Facts: Vaping Saves Lives by Helping Smokers Quit

​

✅ Smoking remains Australia’s leading cause of preventable death, killing 21,000 people every year​.
✅ Vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking, according to Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians (UK)​.
✅ Countries with legal, regulated vaping markets (UK, New Zealand) have seen their smoking rates decline faster than Australia’s​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman falsely claims that vaping is purely industry-driven. In reality, it is one of the most effective harm reduction tools for smokers who are trying to quit.

​

2. “Vaping is targeting kids, and we must ban it to protect them.”

​

The Facts: Prohibition Has Failed, Regulation Works Better

​

✅ Australia already has some of the strictest vaping laws in the world, yet youth vaping has increased—showing that prohibition is not working​.
✅ The UK and New Zealand have legal vaping markets with strict age restrictions and enforcement, and their youth vaping rates are better controlled than Australia’s​.
✅ Most youth vaping is experimental, and the majority of regular vapers are smokers or would-be smokers​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s approach will drive vaping further underground, making it even harder to regulate and increasing youth access to dangerous black-market products.

​

3. “Young Australians who vape are three times more likely to start smoking.”

​

The Facts: The “Gateway Effect” Is a Myth

​

✅ There is no scientific evidence proving that vaping causes smoking—correlation does not equal causation​.
✅ Countries where vaping is regulated, such as the UK, have seen continued declines in smoking rates, showing that vaping does not lead to more smoking​.
✅ In fact, vaping may divert young people away from smoking—many who try vapes would have experimented with cigarettes if vapes weren’t available​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman misrepresents the data. If vaping caused smoking, we would see rising smoking rates, but instead, smoking continues to decline in countries with regulated vaping markets.

​

4. “Vaping contains toxic chemicals that will cause long-term health effects.”

​

The Facts: Vaping Is Much Safer Than Smoking

​

✅ Nicotine vapes contain only four main ingredients—propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavorings—similar to ingredients found in inhalers for asthma patients​.
✅ The “toxic chemicals” fear is misleading—studies fail to compare vaping to cigarettes, which contain thousands of harmful chemicals, including 70 known carcinogens​.
✅ While long-term vaping risks are still being studied, the evidence so far suggests that the risks are minimal compared to smoking​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s fear-mongering about chemicals ignores the basic principle of toxicology: “The dose makes the poison.” The levels of these chemicals in vapes are too low to cause harm.

​

5. “We must ban flavors because they are marketed to kids.”

​

The Facts: Flavors Help Adult Smokers Quit

​

✅ Flavored vapes are crucial in helping adult smokers transition away from cigarettes​.
✅ A ban on flavors would push adult smokers back to deadly cigarettes while fueling the black market for unregulated flavored vapes​.
✅ Countries with regulated access to flavored vapes have seen smoking rates decline faster than Australia’s​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s push to ban flavors will harm adult smokers while failing to stop youth vaping. Regulation—not prohibition—is the solution.

​

6. “Banning vape sales will stop youth access.”

​

The Facts: Prohibition Does Not Work, Regulation Does

​

✅ Australia’s prescription-only model has already led to a massive black market, proving that bans do not stop access​.
✅ The UK, where vapes are legally sold but strictly age-regulated, has lower youth vaping rates than Australia​.
✅ Prohibiting retail sales will only push vapes further into illegal markets where there are no age checks and no safety standards​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s policy will make the problem worse, not better. Legalizing and regulating vapes will make it easier to enforce age restrictions and ensure product safety.

​

7. “Vaping should only be available by prescription.”

​

The Facts: The Prescription Model Has Been a Complete Failure

​

✅ Requiring a prescription creates unnecessary barriers for smokers trying to quit​.
✅ No other Western country forces smokers to get a prescription for vapes—Australia’s policy is an international outlier​.
✅ A well-regulated retail market is far more effective in reducing smoking than a restrictive prescription-only system​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s prescription-only approach is outdated and ineffective. Smokers need easy access to safer alternatives—not bureaucratic obstacles.

​

8. “Stronger enforcement and penalties will stop illegal vape sales.”

​

The Facts: Criminalizing Vaping Fuels the Black Market

​

✅ Punitive laws do not stop demand—they push people into unregulated, illegal markets​.
✅ Legalizing and regulating vapes reduces black-market activity and ensures that only safe, tested products are sold​.
✅ Countries with legal vape sales have better youth protection measures than Australia​.

🛑 Ms. Templeman’s approach will drive vaping underground, making it harder to regulate and increasing the risks for both youth and adult users.

​

A Smarter Approach to Vaping Regulation

​

Ms. Susan Templeman MP’s speech is based on moral panic, misinformation, and a failed “quit or die” approach 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?

​

1. Legalize and regulate vapes with strict age controls (rather than banning them and fueling the black market).

2. Ensure all vape products meet safety standards (so they do not contain harmful chemicals).

3. Educate youth about vaping risks honestly (rather than exaggerating and losing credibility).

4. Keep flavors available for adults to prevent smokers from returning to cigarettes.

5. 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.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​