27 March 2024: 

"I welcome the government's decision to ban the importation, manufacture and sale of vapes except when doctors prescribe them. I acknowledge the comments of the member for Maranoa on the difficulty in this policy area, and this will require close monitoring to see if there are unintended consequences. But the parents that I meet in Goldstein are so concerned about the plague that vaping has become. Vapes are widely distributed at schools. Smoke shops selling vapes have been located too close to schools. Peer pressure is creating teenage addicts of a substance that could well kill them—and now the data is in."

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Zoe Daniel Is Wrong, Here's Why:

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Zoe Daniel MP’s speech on vaping is filled with misleading claims, flawed reasoning, and a failure to understand harm reduction principles. Below is a fact-based rebuttal explaining why her arguments are incorrect.

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1. “I welcome the government’s decision to ban the importation, manufacture, and sale of vapes except when doctors prescribe them.”

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The Facts: Prescription-Only Vaping Has Already Failed in Australia

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• Australia’s prescription-only model has been a disaster, creating one of the world’s largest black markets for vapes​.

• Countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Canada allow adult smokers to legally purchase vapes, leading to declining smoking rates and better regulation of youth access​.

• The ban will not stop people from accessing vapes—it will push them toward illegal sources, making youth access easier and product safety worse​.

• There is no evidence that requiring a doctor’s prescription is necessary or beneficial for smokers trying to quit​.

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2. “Vapes are widely distributed at schools, and peer pressure is creating teenage addicts.”

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The Facts: Youth Access to Vapes Is Due to the Black Market, Not Legal Retail Sales

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• Vaping should be regulated, not banned. A legal, well-regulated market with strict age verification would prevent sales to minors​.

• Countries with legal vape sales and strict retail enforcement have lower rates of youth access compared to countries like Australia, where bans create an unregulated market​.

• Young people obtain vapes from illegal sellers because prohibition fuels a thriving black market​.

• A sensible regulatory model that includes ID checks, strict penalties for underage sales, and well-regulated vape shops would be more effective than prohibition​.

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3. “Vapes could well kill teenagers, and now the data is in.”

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The Facts: There Is No Evidence That Nicotine Vaping Causes Death

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• No credible evidence supports the claim that vaping is causing deaths among teenagers​.

• The infamous EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury) outbreak in 2019 was caused by illegal THC vapes containing vitamin E acetate, not nicotine vapes​.

• Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians confirm that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking​.

• Misrepresenting vaping risks can discourage adult smokers from switching to a safer alternative​.

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4. “Generation Vape found that 32% of 14- to 17-year-olds had used vapes.”

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The Facts: Youth Experimentation Does Not Mean Long-Term Addiction

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• Most youth who experiment with vapes do not become regular users, just as many young people who try alcohol do not become alcoholics​.

• Surveys often fail to distinguish between one-time experimentation and regular use, leading to exaggerated fears​.

• In the UK, where vapes are regulated, youth smoking rates continue to decline, proving that vaping is not causing more young people to become smokers​.

• Restricting adult access to vapes will not stop youth from experimenting, but proper regulation and enforcement can limit underage access​.

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5. “Flavored vapes are designed to attract kids.”

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The Facts: Flavors Are Crucial for Helping Adult Smokers Quit

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• Most adult vapers prefer fruit and dessert flavors over tobacco flavors, as they help disassociate vaping from smoking​.

• Countries like New Zealand and the UK allow flavored vapes while enforcing strict age restrictions, successfully preventing youth uptake while helping smokers quit​.

• Flavor bans often push vapers back to smoking or the black market, where unsafe, unregulated products are sold​.

• If Australia truly wanted to protect young people while supporting adult smokers, it would regulate flavors responsibly instead of banning them​.

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6. “The rise of vaping is no surprise given that tobacco companies are looking for a new profit center.”

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The Facts: Banning Vapes Will Drive People Back to Cigarettes, Benefiting Big Tobacco

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• If the government bans vapes, it will push people back to smoking, which is exactly what Big Tobacco wants​.

• In countries where vaping is allowed, cigarette sales continue to decline, threatening the traditional tobacco industry​.

• Ironically, Australia’s approach to vaping has protected cigarette sales, keeping Big Tobacco profitable​.

• A well-regulated vape market would reduce smoking rates further while ensuring Big Tobacco does not dominate the industry​.

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7. “Vaping is addictive, damaging, and a poor alternative to smoking.”

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The Facts: Vaping Is the Most Effective Smoking Cessation Tool Available

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• Vaping is at least twice as effective as nicotine patches and gum for helping smokers quit​.

• Nicotine itself is not the cause of smoking-related diseases—it's the tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of harmful chemicals in cigarettes​.

• If vaping were banned, smokers would have fewer options to quit, leading to higher smoking rates and worse public health outcomes​.

• Banning vapes while keeping cigarettes legal is completely illogical from a public health perspective​.

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8. “Those who truly need vapes can get a prescription.”

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The Facts: Australia’s Prescription Model Has Already Failed

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• The prescription-only model creates unnecessary barriers for smokers trying to quit, leading many to return to cigarettes​.

• Doctors are not widely prescribing vapes, and many smokers find it easier to buy from the black market than navigate the complex prescription process​.

• Countries that allow over-the-counter vape sales with strong regulations have seen better smoking cessation outcomes than countries like Australia​.

• Forcing smokers to get a prescription for vapes while allowing cigarettes to be sold in every corner store is completely inconsistent public health policy​.

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9. “The government must ensure that the black market doesn’t grow.”

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The Facts: The Black Market Already Exists Because of Australia’s Restrictions

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• Banning vapes will not eliminate demand—it will only make illegal supply more profitable​.

• The only way to truly control vaping products and keep them away from youth is through a well-regulated legal market with strict age enforcement​.

• The government has already failed to control the illicit vape market, and further bans will only worsen the situation​.

 

A More Effective Approach

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Zoe Daniel MP’s speech is based on fear-mongering, selective data, and a misunderstanding of harm reduction. Instead of doubling down on prohibitionist policies that have already failed, Australia should adopt a regulated, evidence-based vaping policy, similar to the UK and 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.

By banning legal vapes, the Australian government is driving people back to smoking, strengthening criminal networks, and failing to protect youth. A legal, regulated market is the real solution.

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