AUSTRALIA IS IMPLEMENTING AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE BAN FOR 12 MONTHS
Acquiring them could be quite difficult when the ban is in effect
Australia is all set to implement an electronic cigarette ban if the laws proposed by the Health Minister of our country are passed. The Australian government will ask the Governor-General to amend the custom regulations and make import of vaping equipment into the country without a medical prescription illegal.
If the electronic cigarette ban is implemented, it will come into effect from July 1, 2020, and would last at least 12 months. At the moment, the purchase of equipment and refills is illegal in some Australian states and territories. But if the law is implemented, it will be banned across the country uniformly.
Though the electronic cigarette ban will be strict, there are a few exceptions, like you can get a medical exemption or buy nicotine-free liquid refills. People who have a prescription can legally continue vaping as long as they can prove that vaping helps them to stop smoking. Even if you have a prescription, the goods can’t be shipped to your home. Your doctor or a medical supplier would have to receive them on your behalf.
The government’s announcement stated, “Individuals would get their vaporiser nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or nicotine-containing refills via a permission granted by the Department of Health to a doctor or medical supplier who would be able to import the goods using a courier service or by cargo service. The goods cannot be imported through international mail.”
Travellers who are returning from overseas could be allowed to bring vaping equipment and refills to the country as long as they have a prescription.
If the electronic cigarette ban is implemented, the penalty for not following the rules could be as high as 1000 penalty units or AUD 222,000. If the e-cigarettes or refills are seized by Border Force officials, no refunds will be issued.
Some experts think that the electronic cigarette ban will lead to the flourishing of the black market of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices.
Simon Chapman, an Emeritus Professor at Sydney University’s School of Public Health, supports the electronic cigarette ban. He believes that e-cigarettes were never a healthy alternative. He said, “We know a typical vaper will pull into their lungs over 120 times a day, and not just nicotine – flavouring agents, fine metal particles that have sloughed off from the coil. It’s a big question whether we will see consequences down the track.” He is, of-course talking about vaping-related illness that is common these days. Prof Chapman also said that people who need electronic cigarettes to get rid of smoking standard cigarettes should instead speak to their GPs to kick the bad habit.
