Release: Major study shows vaping helps smokers quit, yet Aussie vapers are still punished
Major study shows vaping helps smokers kick the habit, but Australia will push ahead with ban on vape sales this week
Australia will introduce draconian laws to restrict use of vaping products from October 1, with some vapers likely to go back to cigarettes
Review of global research led by University of Queensland academics and published in an international peer-reviewed journal supports vaping as the most effective tool for quitting smoking
Nicotine vaping products sold at retailers on production of age verification is supported as a public health measure in the UK and New Zealand, where authorities are taking an evidence-based approach
Legalise Vaping Australia has released a summary of key research that supports vaping as a quitting tool
An in-depth new study by Australian researchers looking at the global evidence for the effectiveness of nicotine vaping devices as a tool for quitting cigarettes has confirmed what hundreds of thousands of Aussie vapers already know: vapes help you kick the habit.
The study, published in the prestigious journal Addictive Behaviours and led by researchers at the University of Queensland, concluded that smokers who used vapes were more likely to quit, compared with other support tools.
From October 1 the Federal Government will make importing nicotine liquids for vaping illegal. This will force Australia’s 500,000-plus vapers seek a GP prescription to continue using the globally popular quitting method. Even with a prescription, Australians will only be able to buy vaping products from licensed pharmacies and online retailers based overseas.
This is despite the mounting body of scientific evidence that shows vaping is helping people to quit around the world and is far less damaging to your health than smoking tobacco. Some of the key research is attached at the end of this media statement for reference.
Brian Marlow, campaign director for Legalise Vaping Australia, said: “Bizarrely, this is a health policy that is bad for people’s health.
“Not only is it a recipe for chaos at GP surgeries right in the middle of a pandemic, but it risks for pushing vapers back on to cigarettes.
“There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about following the science on health advice, yet the federal government seems determined to do the exact opposite on this issue.
“The scientific, peer-reviewed evidence is clear and continues to mount. Vaping helps smokers quit.”
Tightly regulated but widely available nicotine vaping products are central to plans by the British and New Zealand governments to pursue a smoke-free society. The UK government’s public health research found that in 2017, at least 50,000 people quit smoking for good by using vaping.
“Given the continuing evidence of the usefulness of vaping to public health, it is astonishing that in Australia, we are making it harder for people to make the decision to quit. It is completely illogical,” Mr Marlow said.
“The answer is simple: Vaping products should be made available over the counter at retail outlets on production of age verification as is the case in other sensible countries that are supporting smokers to quit effectively.
“Health Minister Greg Hunt should act immediately to overturn this law.”
Only 71 doctors across Australia have registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration to be allowed to write prescriptions for nicotine vaping, of which just 14 are listed on the website.
Legalise Vaping Australia campaigns for making vape devices and liquids available in a safe and effective regulatory environment.
For more information on Legalise Vaping Australia: https://www.legalisevaping.com.au/
For more information on the TGA authorise prescribers: https://www.tga.gov.au/authorised-prescribers-unapproved-nicotine-vaping-products