Australia’s Vape Law Backfires as Smoking Rates Keep High
Australia’s progressively harsh restrictions on vaping products, including a near-total ban on sales outside pharmacies, have failed to curb demand and may be counterproductive to public health, a new expert review published in the Journal of Smoking Cessation concludes. The report, titled ‘A short history of e-cigarette policy in Australia,’ traces how increasingly strict measures have driven vaping underground rather than reducing its use, particularly among young people, while the nation’s smoking rate remains stubbornly high at around 11%.
Despite some of the world’s toughest e-cigarette regulations, Australian youth vaping rates are comparable to countries with more liberal policies. This contrasts sharply with nations like Sweden, which has achieved “smoke-free” status (less than 5% daily adult smokers) by embracing safer nicotine alternatives like vapes and snus as part of a harm reduction strategy.
Australia’s crackdown intensified in October 2021, making nicotine vapes prescription-only through pharmacies and imposing strict packaging and ingredient rules. However, this triggered a surge in black market sales, with products often mislabeled as nicotine-free. Further bans in 2024 targeted disposable vape imports (January) and all non-therapeutic vapes (March), followed by prohibitions on domestic manufacturing and supply in June. A slight backtrack in October allowed pharmacy sales without a prescription, but many pharmacies declined to stock them, leaving few legal options for adult vapers, many of whom are ex-smokers.
The review questions the efficacy of these repeated crackdowns, noting high youth vaping, stagnant smoking rates well above more liberal countries, and a thriving black market increasingly controlled by criminal gangs. The authors conclude that “only time will tell if these reforms… will have a substantial effect on lowering e-cigarette usage and uptake in Australia.”
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