The Federal Government’s new regulatory changes aimed at stopping the importation of non-prescription vapes and banning single-use disposable vapes have been welcomed by National Asthma Council Australia.
National Asthma Council Australia Guidelines Committee chair Professor Nick Zwar said the vaping public health threat had needed to be addressed for some time.
“The uptake of vaping in younger people, many of whom are non-smokers, has been alarming,” he said.
“The proposed requirement of pharmaceutical-like packaging is also welcome, as this may contribute to making vaping products less appealing to young people and is consistent with access only via prescription.”
Prof Zwar said nicotine e-cigarettes had a role in supporting smoking cessation for people who had not been successful in quitting using other Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved forms of pharmacotherapy.
“While an ARTG (Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods) listed nicotine vaping product would be ideal, increasing the minimum standards for nicotine vaping products will provide some further assurance to prescribers about quality and safety when using these products to assist smokers to quit,” he said.
“We congratulate the Health Minister, Mark Butler, and the Federal Government on making this decision and welcome the announcement of a $234 million boost in this month’s budget for the biggest smoking reforms in a decade.”