More than 13 tonnes of disposable vapes with a street value of $4.5m have been seized by Australian Border Force officers.
The 150,000 disposable vapes found in air cargo consignments in Adelaide comprise the first large-scale seizure since the ban on the importation of disposable single-use vapes came into effect on 1 January.
The ABF said it became suspicious when 14 air cargo consignments arrived from the same destination declaring they were carrying a “refillable atomiser”.
The consignments contained 10 tonnes of disposable vapes and further investigation led to the seizure of three more tonnes. Inquiries into the illicit importation are continuing.
Overall, 250,000 disposable vapes have been seized since the new year.
The assistant commissioner of the ABF, Chris Waters, said “this is a clear signal to the community that the new vaping regime was well and truly under way”.
“We expect many international vaping suppliers will continue to attempt to send products to Australia, and may seek to change their behaviour to avoid detection,” Waters said.
“All Australian suppliers of vaping products should heed this notice. If you attempt to conceal imports of vapes, we will uncover and intercept them.”
The health minister, Mark Butler, said the seizure showed that the new vaping policy was working.
“Before our government changed the loopholes in existing laws, millions and millions of disposable vapes were able to flood into Australia – vapes that are deliberately marketed at our children,” Butler said.
“Single use disposable vapes are brightly coloured and bubble-gum flavoured, intended to entice young kids who are using them.
“About one in six high school students are vaping, and about one in four young Australians aged between 18 and 24 are vaping,” Butler said.
Further legislation planned for later this year will also prevent the advertising, supply, or commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable vapes, tighten legal loopholes to end personal importation, and regulate nicotine levels and flavours in prescription vapes.
In an editorial published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health last week, leading Australian tobacco control experts commended the government’s reform agenda, but called for the further reforms to be introduced urgently.
The CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, Terry Slevin, said that “we urgently need these reforms in place to protect the next generation from reckless retailers and the destructive nicotine industry”.
The seizure’s announcement comes the same day as the NSW government launched a new campaign featuring real young people aged 14 to 24 who have experienced the harms of vaping.
The campaign, developed in consultation with young people and medical experts, aims to encourage young people to consider the proven health harms of vaping, such as nicotine addiction, lung damage, breathlessness, nicotine poisoning and burns from exploding vapes.
• The subheading and text of this article were amended on 30 January 2024 after updated information was received from the health minister’s office to clarify that 150,000 vapes were seized during the raid in Adelaide, while 250,000 vapes have been seized since 1 January 2024. An earlier version reported that 250,000 had been found in the raid.
