2023-05-02 10:02:36
In Australia, the Minister of Health announced strict measures on Tuesday to limit vaping in the country. Canberra will ban single-use electronic cigarettes, stop imports of non-prescription versions and restrict the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes.
The country has long pursued an active tobacco eradication policy. In 2012, it became the first country to impose the “neutral” cigarette package. Due to heavy tobacco taxes, cigarettes there are among the most expensive in the world, with a pack of 25 selling for around $50.
The electronic cigarette, “not a recreational product”
In recent years, the country has struggled to contain the explosion of vaping, especially among teenagers. “Vaping has become the number one behavioral problem in high schools. And it’s spreading through primary schools,” Health Minister Mark Butler said on Tuesday, accusing the tobacco industry of wanting to create “a new generation of nicotine addicts”.
E-cigarettes will still be allowed but only on prescription, as a quit smoking aid. “Vaping has been sold to governments and the world as a therapeutic product to help long-time smokers quit,” Butler said. “It was not sold as a recreational product, especially not for our children. »
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing, the country has one of the lowest daily smoking rates in the world, but the number of young people under 25 starting to smoke has increased. Along with these announcements, the Minister announced an increase in tobacco sales taxes of 5% per year over the next three years.
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