Australia - Tobacco Reporter

Researchers Condemn Medical Body’s Position on E-cigarettes

Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) statement on e-cigarettes fails to meet the scientific standard expected of a leading national scientific body, according to 11 addiction scientists, reports Medical Express.

Published in June 2022, the NHMRC statement aims to provide “public health advice on the safety and impacts of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) based on review of the current evidence.”

This critique of the NHMRC statement, published in Addiction, argues that the statement inaccurately summarizes the current evidence on e-cigarettes. The authors contend that the NHMRC exaggerates the risks of vaping and fails to compare them with smoking; incorrectly claims that adolescent vaping causes subsequent smoking; and ignores evidence of the benefits of vaping in helping smokers quit.

The NHMRC statement also ignores evidence that vaping is likely already having a positive effect on public health and misapplies the precautionary principle, which requires policymakers to compare the risks of introducing a product with the risks of delaying its introduction.

“Many leading international scientists in the field hold more supportive views than the NHMRC on the potential of e-cigarettes as a strategy to improve public health,” said Colin Mendelsohn, lead author of the Addiction article. “In particular, invoking the precautionary principle to prevent the use of much less harmful smoke-free products is unjustified in the face of the massive public health burden of smoking.”

February 22, 2023

Illegal Vapes and Tobacco Seized

Police in Queensland, Australia, seized illegal vapes and tobacco worth AUD500,000 ($342.4321), reports The Daily Mail.

Law enforcement officers allegedly seized 100 kg of illicit tobacco, thousands of vapes and $80,000 cash while executing a search warrant. Two people have been charged and went to court. They will reappear in Mackay Magistrates Court on March 13.

The warrant and arrests were part of Operation Kitimat, an investigation into reports of vapes and tobacco products being sold to minors.

“Operation Kitimat identified that the peak trading times were prior to 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m., which corroborates significant information we received from members of the public,” Mackay Whitsunday District Detective Inspector Emma Novosel said.

“The operation was aimed to disrupt this criminal enterprise and send a clear message that such activity, including the sale of tobacco and smoking products to children, will not be tolerated in Mackay Whitsunday District.

February 17, 2023

Australia Plans Major Crackdown on Nicotine

Australia plans to tighten the screws on vaping and smoking, reports The Guardian.

While Australia was on the forefront of anti-tobacco policies for many years—the country pioneered plain packaging, for example—federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the former government has been “asleep at the wheel” as vaping skyrocketed.

Vaping rates doubled in Australia between 2016 and 2019. In New South Wales, almost a third of 16-year-olds to 24-year-olds had tried vaping by last year, up from 15 percent three years earlier, according to a state government population survey.

To help remedy the situation, the Therapeutic Goods Administration will begin public consultation on changes to importation laws, premarket assessments of vapor products, labeling, advertising, flavoring and identification of nicotine-containing products. Many nicotine-containing products are misleadingly labeled as nicotine-free, according to authorities.

It is illegal to sell, supply or possess an e-cigarette or any liquid that contains nicotine in Australia without a doctor’s prescription. But suppliers have been getting around this by removing “nicotine” from the ingredients list, even though their products contain it.

New South Wales Health revealed it had seized more than 157,000 vapes containing nicotine in raids in the 18 months leading to September.

The government also intends to further tighten the screws on combustible cigarettes. Among other measures, it wants to require cigarette manufacturers to print health warnings, such as “smoking kills,” on every individual cigarette and produce cigarettes in less appealing colors. Health promotion inserts should be put in every cigarette pack and advertising regulations will be updated to include vaping products. The government also wants to ban flavored cigarettes, including mentholated varieties.

The proposed measures are intended to help Australia achieve a smoking prevalence of less than 10 percent by 2025 and 5 percent or less by 2030.

The public consultation on reforms will be open until Jan. 16.

December 1, 2022

Video: TGA Boss Admits Problems with Australian Model

The head of Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has acknowledged shortcomings in the country’s vaping regulations, according to tobacco harm reduction activist Colin Mendelsohn.

Writing on his website, Mendelsohn says TGA boss John Skerrit “has finally admitted the disastrous and predictable failure of Australia’s vaping regulations,” which among other things require vapers to obtain a doctor’s prescription to buy nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.

During questioning in Australia’s Senate, Skerrit acknowledged not only that there has been a dramatic increase in youth vaping but also that large numbers of low-quality products are entering the country and are being sold on the black market, according to Mendelsohn.

In addition, Skerrit noted that only 1,353 out of 130,000 registered doctors have applied to be authorized e-cigarette prescribers, and less than 10 percent of adult vapers have a prescription for nicotine.

According to Mendelsohn, Skerritt had previously promised a review of the regulations, which were introduced on Oct. 1, 2021, at three, six and 12 months. Instead, he wrote, the TGA and government had a secret meeting of unnamed vaping experts.

Mendelsohn said it is likely that further restrictions and enforcement will be recommended by “the experts” to double down on their de facto prohibition. “This will only lead to greatly reduced legal vaping and more deaths from smoking,” he wrote.

November 18, 2022

Prescription Vaping Has Failed: Mendelsohn

Australia’s prescription-only model for nicotine vaping has failed, according to Colin Mendelsohn, founding chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association. Writing in Filter, he urges the country to adopt a more realistic regulatory model for nicotine products.

In October 2021, the Australian government introduced a policy that requires nicotine vapers get a doctor’s prescription and purchase supplies exclusively from pharmacies or international online vendors.

The regulations were intended to prevent youth vaping and to allow access for adults as a smoking-cessation aid. One year on, the policy has achieved neither of those goals, according to a report prepared by Mendelsohn.

Instead, the rules have created a thriving illicit market for unregulated vaping products that do not comply with Australian standards. Meanwhile, vaping by adolescents has reportedly increased in Australia. With no age controls in an unregulated market, vaping products are easily accessible by teens from stores and through social media.

Nicotine liquid should be an adult consumer product, sold from licensed retail outlets such as vape shops, convenience stores, tobacconists and general stores as it is in other countries.

Colin Mendelsohn, founding chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association

While the prescription model has made it harder for adults legally access nicotine vapes, combustible cigarettes remain widely available.

According to two recent surveys, between 88 to 97 percent of vapers do not have a prescription and only 2 percent of purchases are made from a pharmacy. Exposed to frequent negative messaging by Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, general practitioners have been reluctant to prescribe nicotine.

The only way forward, according to Mendelsohn, is to replace the prescription-only model with a legal and regulated retail market. “Nicotine liquid should be an adult consumer product, sold from licensed retail outlets such as vape shops, convenience stores, tobacconists and general stores as it is in other countries,” he writes. “There should be strict age verification and penalties up to loss of license for underage sales.”

October 3, 2022

PMI Halts Cash-for-Vapes Program

Philip Morris International has paused a program that would have paid Australian pharmacists AUD275 ($190.24) when ordering Veev vapes, according to The Guardian.

The scheme, first reported by News Corp., would have seen pharmacists receive AUD5 every time they dispense a new VEEV script, AUD10 for educating a new patient about the device, and AUD5 for referring patients to a doctor to obtain a prescription. Pharmacists would also receive a AUD275 payment for placing an initial stock order.

Nicotine-containing vapor products are available only with a doctor’s prescription in Australia.

The cash-for-vapes program caused an uproar among public health advocates.

Emily Banks, a professor at Australian National University National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, said the tobacco industry wanted to piggyback off the trust Australians place in the healthcare system.

“Big tobacco wants a piece of that—they want some of the trust to rub off. It’s beyond appalling.”

“Big tobacco’s attempt at financial kickbacks shows absolute contempt for pharmacists,” said a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. “Multinational tobacco companies have no place in health care.”

In a statement, PMI defended the program, saying since 2021 nicotine vaping products had been available in Australian pharmacies as a prescription-only medicine for smoking cessation.

“Several manufacturers, including PMI, have been providing nicotine vaping products to Australian pharmacies via the stringent regulatory regime. Industry data indicates that across multiple manufacturers products are now available in over 2,000 pharmacies nationwide,” the statement said.

August 6, 2022

Activists Outraged Over Vaping Policy Guidance

Tobacco harm reduction activists are outraged over a new Australian government document on vaping.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently published its 2022 CEO Statement on Electronic Cigarettes, which provides guidance to public health policymakers.

According to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA), the document falsely claims that vaping is not an effective quit-smoking tool, but a gateway to smoking with most vapers becoming dual users. Vaping, the document states, also increases the risk of smoking relapse. The NHMRC exaggerates the health impacts, poisoning and explosion risks of e-cigarettes, according to CAPHRA, while references to toxins and potential harms are made without a fair comparison to smoking.

“This latest government document on vaping makes outrageously false claims and will only cost more Australian smokers their lives,” says Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA.

“Ridiculously, Australia’s chief medical officer considers vaping the next biggest health issue after COVID-19. Has he ever heard of smoking which kills over 20,000 Australians every year? This 18-page document is a complete joke. It is full of statements that can be easily debunked by international science and human evidence the world over,” says Loucas.

This egregious document is not worth the paper it’s written on, yet it’s now the bible for public health guidance in and around Australia.

Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator, CAPHRA

CAPHRA says Australia’s hardline anti-vaping approach is increasingly out of step with other Asia Pacific countries, with the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand set to lift their vaping bans. What’s more, New Zealand, across the Tasman, is already operating under a regulatory framework that has seen smoking rates decline.

“This egregious document is not worth the paper it’s written on, yet it’s now the bible for public health guidance in and around Australia,” says Loucas.

It is illegal to sell, supply or possess nicotine vaping products, with Australia the only Western democracy that requires a nicotine prescription to vape. Alarmingly, 2.3 million Australians continue to smoke cigarettes.

Last year Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration expanded its prescription-only model with customs clamping down at the border on the likes of personal imports of nicotine vaping liquids from overseas websites.

July 1, 2022

New South Wales Sets High Fines for Youth Sales

More than $1 million worth of illegal e-cigarettes and liquids containing nicotine have been seized in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this year.

NSW Health has seized more than $3 million of the banned products since July 2020.

Since October 2021, products containing nicotine are only available for people over the age of 18 when prescribed by a medical practitioner for smoking cessation purposes, from an Australian pharmacy or via importation into Australia with a valid prescription, according to 7News.

For all other retailers in NSW, the sale of e-cigarettes or e-liquids containing nicotine is illegal.

The curb on illegal nicotine sales extends to online shops with the maximum penalty of $1,650 per offense, six months in prison or both.

Selling to minors also comes with hefty fines. For individuals, up to $11,000 for a first offense and up to $55,000 for a second or subsequent offense; and for corporations, up to $55,000 for a first offense and up to $110,000 for a second or subsequent offense.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said retailers were being put on notice if they were selling the contraband products. “We are cracking down on the illegal sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and liquids and taking a zero-tolerance approach to those who sell them,” she said.

“NSW Health regularly conducts raids on retailers across the state to protect young people from these harmful devices. You will be caught, illegal items will be seized, and you could face prosecution, resulting in being fined or even jailed.

“The harmful impacts of vaping on young people cannot be underestimated. People think they are simply flavored water, but in reality, in many cases, they are ingesting poisonous chemicals that can cause life-threatening injuries.”

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation says around 14 percent of 12-year-olds to 17-year-olds nationwide have tried an e-cigarette, with around 32 percent of these students having used one in the past month. Around 12 percent of students reported buying an e-cigarette themselves.

May 17, 2022

Australia Mulls Higher Minimum Tobacco Age

Australia may raise the minimum age for cigarette purchases, if recommendations from the draft 2022-2030 national tobacco strategy are accepted, reports the Daily Mail.

The current minimum age to buy tobacco products is 18.

The new policy proposal comes as a national survey, conducted by the Cancer Council, revealed that most Australians would support a policy that stops retailers from selling cigarettes completely.

In a recent survey conducted by Cancer Council Victoria, 50.8 percent of participants supported a phase-out, and an overwhelming majority of 61.8 percent said it should happen within the next decade.

Australia is already home to the most expensive cigarettes in the world, with a typical 20-stick pack costing $40. The Australian government rakes in about AUD17 billion ($12.06 billion) in tobacco tax each year. The high prices are believed to have contributed to a significant illicit market for tobacco products. The illegal tobacco trade is worth about $600 million annually, according to Border Force.

In December, New Zealand banned young people from ever being allowed to buy cigarettes in a rolling scheme that aims to make the entire nation smoke-free. People aged 14 and under in 2027 will never be allowed to buy cigarettes in their lifetime under the new law.

May 6, 2022

Politicians Urged to Debate Vaping in Australia

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is urging Australian politicians to debate vaping in the runup the country’s federal election on May 21.

According to the advocacy group, Australian politicians who recognize the public health potential of vaping will be rewarded with votes, “yet most remain too scared to promote the world’s most effective smoking cessation tool.”

“Australia’s political leaders need to pull their heads out of the sand,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA. “Annually, over 20,000 Australian smokers die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, and 2.3 million still smoke. Alarmingly, however, nobody wants to seriously fix successive governments’ failure to reduce tobacco harm.”

Australia is the only Western democracy that requires a nicotine prescription to vape. Further, its Department of Health’s Draft National Smoking Strategy 2022–2030 proposes additional measures to prevent smokers from switching to safer nicotine products.

Loucas suspects that tobacco tax revenues are one of the reasons that vaping has been buried in the election debate. Ongoing increases to tobacco excise have made it the fourth-largest individual tax collected by Australia’s federal government at an estimated $15 billion per financial year, according to CAPHRA.

The group notes that nearly 70 countries have adopted regulatory frameworks on safer nicotine products. All of them have reported a dramatic decline in smoking prevalence since.

“Australia is light-years behind the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand, with some key Asian countries now looking to lift their failed vaping bans. If campaigning Australian politicians really want to save lives this election, well here is their best opportunity by simply a stroke of the pen,” said Loucas.

April 7, 2022

Tag: Australia