Doctors and public health groups have urged politicians not to be influenced by “deliberate confusion” about vaping reforms being generated by nicotine- and tobacco industry-funded groups and lobbyists.
On Thursday, the federal health minister will introduce vaping legislation to ban the importation, manufacture, supply and commercial possession of disposable single-use and non-therapeutic vapes. Patient access to therapeutic vapes from a pharmacy with a prescription is not being banned.
The Nationals, the only party that receives donations from tobacco companies, and Greens politicians have raised concerns about a “prohibition” approach in vaping legislation.
An associate professor of public health and youth vaping expert with the University of Sydney, Prof Becky Freeman, said: “It’s completely misleading to frame these reforms as prohibition, and it only serves tobacco industry and vaping industry purposes.
“The reforms are not getting rid of prescription vapes.
“They will close a loophole around non-nicotine vapes, which nobody believes are vital for quitting smoking.”
The health minister, Mark Butler, told Guardian Australia: “This policy is not prohibition.
“Once the legislation passes the parliament later this year, anyone from July 1 who is in genuine need of a vape will purchase a regulated vape from a pharmacist,” he said.
“The only groups who want to regulate and sell vaping products are those who profit once kids get hooked on nicotine – big tobacco and tobacco retailers.”
The chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, Terry Slevin, said fewer than one in 10 Australians now smoke tobacco daily. Slevin said he had seen vaping lobbyists attribute uptake of vaping as a reason for smoking reduction, using it as an argument to sell vapes alongside tobacco.
“To suggest vaping as the driver of that reduction in tobacco smoking prevalence is farcical when at the same time we’ve seen the tobacco excise tax growth,” he said. “Smoking is injurious to the wallet and to health, and these are also strong and effective motivators for people to quit.”
Meanwhile, a vaping lobby group with links to tobacco companies, Bust the Black Market, has continued to run full-page advertisements in the Australian newspaper saying the “ban won’t work”.
The ads were authorised by Brian Marlow, the executive director of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance (ATA). Marlow also heads Legalise Vaping Australia (LVA), which made a submission backing tobacco company Philip Morris International’s application to to sell heat-not-burn tobacco products.
Two doctors who hold roles with the pro-vaping group Athra have also sent a letter to senators that claims: “The Australian public does not support the current prohibitive approach to vaping reforms.”
The letter does not disclose that the Athra signatories have flown to and spoken at flagship tobacco and vaping industry conferences.
Their letter urges senators to support a model more in line with New Zealand, where retailers can sell vapes under similar rules to tobacco.
“The vaping rate among New Zealand youth has started to decline since regulation,” the letter said.
But on Wednesday, New Zealand’s associate health minister, Casey Costello, announced disposable vapes would be banned, citing concern about rising youth vaping rates.
Public health physician and epidemiologist Prof Emily Banks said it was frustrating to see lobbyists using New Zealand as an example of success.
“In New Zealand about 10% of 13- to 15-year-olds are vaping every single day and it’s around 20% of Maori 13- to 15-year-olds,” Banks said.
“Now that’s more than triple the prevalence of that kind of use in the same age group in Australia. So they can’t really use the New Zealand model to say ‘what they’re doing is terrific’.”
She also disagreed with Athra’s claim that Australians did not support the government’s approach.
“The latest national drug strategy household survey shows 77%-86% of people surveyed wanted tougher measures against vaping,” she said. “The community has had enough but these groups are very vocal. But groups shouting loud aren’t shouting for everybody.”
Athra took start-up funding from two e-cigarette companies and Knowledge Action Change (KAC). KAC has received funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which in turn is funded by Philip Morris International. Australia’s largest vape shop, Vapoureyes, has also fundraised for Athra.
On Wednesday, an investigation by the ABC revealed that testimonials from former smokers turned vapers that were posted by Athra on the social media platform X, purportedly from real people, in fact were stock photos. Athra did not provide the ABC with evidence that the testimonials accompanying the photos are real.
Laura Hunter, co-chief executive from the Australian Council on Smoking & Health, said it was important to call what she described as “deliberate confusion” being generated by pro-vaping campaigns such as Bust the Black Market, Athra and affiliated groups.
“We need politicians to see the vaping epidemic for what it actually is – another casualty of the tobacco industry’s long-standing agenda to increase profits by driving nicotine dependency,” she said.
“We need our elected members to step up and protect our kids, not industry profits.”
