Public Health Association of Australia highlights the need to legalise and regulate

Vape advocacy organisation, Legalise Vaping Australia, today responded to a media release by Public Health Association Australia highlighting concerns about youth vaping rates in Australia.

Legalise Vaping Australia’s Campaign Director Brian Marlow stressed that concerns about vaping being a gateway to smoking by youths has been comprehensively debunked by Public Health England and in Australia by the CSIRO.

“While the myth that vaping is a gateway for youths has been completely debunked both here and in the UK, we do agree with the PHAA that strong regulation around vaping is needed. We believe that legalising vaping and including proper regulations around labelling, ingredients, device requirements and marketing framework will ensure vapes are not advertised to minors and adult smokers who make the switch to vapes will have access to a high-quality product.”

Facts about Vaping:

• Vaping is 95% safer than smoking cigarettes

• According to the UK Department of Health, “the evidence does not support the concern that e-cigarettes are a route into smoking among young people.”

• Vaping offers a 60% better quit rate over going cold turkey

• In the UK alone, E-cigarettes could be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year and possibly many more.

• Nicotine vaping is legal in the US, Canada, NZ, the UK, and throughout the EU

• It is illegal to even possess nicotine vapes in all states and territories, with penalties of up to $45,000 and 2 years in prison.