Australia to ban nicotine-free vapes in push to end recreational use

The Australian government will try to stamp out recreational vaping by banning nicotine-free vapes and only allowing those with nicotine to be sold by pharmacies in medical-style packaging to people with prescriptions.

“Vaping is creating a whole new generation of nicotine dependency in our community,” Australia’s health minister Mark Butler said in a press release on 2 May. “It poses a major threat to Australia’s success in tobacco control.”

Since 2021, Australia has only allowed nicotine-containing vapes to be sold by pharmacies to people who have been prescribed them by a doctor to help them quit smoking. However, nicotine-free vapes have been legally available to buy at convenience stores, petrol stations and other retailers.

Because these nicotine-free vapes are difficult to regulate, “there are many cases of products being falsely labelled as nicotine-free or simply not listing nicotine in the ingredients even when it is there”, says Oliver Jones at RMIT University in Melbourne.

These nicotine-containing products, which often come in bright packaging with fruity flavours, are getting young people hooked, says Becky Freeman at the University of Sydney. According to a national survey, 5.3 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds were using e-cigarettes in 2019 – almost double the rate in 2016 – and research suggests those using them are three times as likely to take up smoking.

“Although vapes were first introduced as a tool to help adults quit or reduce smoking, these devices are largely used by youth who are not current or ever-users of tobacco,” says Courtney Barnes at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

To try to address this, the government will ban nicotine-free vapes and tighten the rules for prescription-only nicotine vapes: the amount of nicotine they are allowed to contain will be reduced, flavours and colourings will be restricted and they will have to be sold in pharmaceutical-looking packaging. Single-use disposable vapes will be banned.

“These are supposed to be pharmaceutical products, so they will have to present that way – no more bubblegum flavours or pink unicorn packaging,” said Butler in a speech to Australia’s National Press Club on 2 May. A timeline for implementation has not been announced.

Australia has one of the world’s lowest smoking rates, with only 11 per cent of people over 15 smoking daily. It has achieved this by introducing mandatory plain packaging for cigarettes with graphic health warnings, increasing their cost through taxes and banning smoking in many public areas.

Butler said that cracking down on recreational vaping was crucial to stop these gains from being undone. “We will not stand by and allow vaping to create another generation of nicotine addicts.”

“While there may be potential unintended effects of this decision, for example restricting vaping might drive people back to traditional cigarettes, which are obviously worse, I think these are unlikely and so today’s announcement is a welcome move by the government,” says Jones.

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