Australia banned leisure vaping and tightened different facets of e-cigarette legal guidelines on Tuesday within the largest crackdown on the tobacco business in additional than a decade to attempt to cease an alarming rise in teenage vaping.

The federal government goals to ban all disposable vapes, which regularly is available in fruity flavors, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and restrict nicotine ranges, aiming for the sale of vapes to be confined to serving to people who smoke stop.

“Identical to they did with smoking, Huge Tobacco has taken one other addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added flavors to create a brand new technology of nicotine addicts,” Well being Minister Mark Butler stated in a speech on the Nationwide Press Membership.

Underneath the brand new guidelines, vapes can be bought solely in pharmacies and require “pharmaceutical-type” packaging.

Vaping, broadly seen as a safer different to smoking cigarettes and helpful for serving to people who smoke stop, entails heating a liquid that incorporates nicotine in what known as an e-cigarette and turning it right into a vapor that customers inhale.

However research have proven the potential of long-term hurt from the addictive e-cigarettes.

Butler stated vaping had turn out to be a leisure product in Australia, principally bought to youngsters and younger individuals, who’re 3 times as more likely to take up smoking.

“This can be a product focused at our children, bought alongside lollies and chocolate bars,” Butler stated. “Vaping has now turn out to be the primary behavioral subject in excessive colleges. And it is turning into widespread in main colleges as effectively.”

Medical doctors backed the vaping crackdown however urged the federal government to do extra to restrict the variety of younger individuals taking it up.

“Nicotine vaping merchandise are being bought that includes colourful flavors and we’ve got even seen merchandise that includes the identical kind of images as kids’s breakfast cereal together with cartoon characters,” stated Nicole Higgins, president of the Royal Australian Faculty of Basic Practitioners.

About 22% of Australians aged 18-24 have used an e-cigarette or vaping gadget at the least as soon as, knowledge final 12 months confirmed.

Although a prescription is required to purchase nicotine vapes in Australia, a thriving unlawful market means they’re available.

The federal funds, due out subsequent week, will embody $234 million Australian {dollars} ($155 million) for measures to guard in opposition to the hurt brought on by tobacco and vaping.

Australia has one of many hardest anti-smoking legal guidelines on the earth.

In 2012, it grew to become the primary nation to pressure cigarette producers to desert distinct, colourful branding and promote their merchandise in uniformly drab packets.

Tobacco corporations have been fast to modify to e-cigarettes that provide totally different flavors and created designs concentrating on a brand new technology of customers.

Butler stated the federal government had no plan to comply with neighboring New Zealand in banning cigarette gross sales for future generations however stated the tax on tobacco could be raised by 5% a 12 months over the subsequent three years in a bid to curb gross sales.

Some nations have tried to limit vaping and a few see it as a great way to get people who smoke to kick the behavior.

Britain stated in April as much as a million people who smoke could be inspired to swap cigarettes for vapes, in what was a world first, providing monetary incentives for pregnant girls and offering e-cigarette starter kits to assist.