New research shows overwhelming support for regulating the sale of vaping products in the same way as tobacco is sold by licensed retailers.
Research by RedBridge Group, commissioned by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), shows that 82 per cent of those surveyed support the regulation and sale of vapes, while 70 per cent believe Australia’s weak vaping laws are normalising interactions between young Australians and criminals.
Theo Foukkare, CEO of AACS, said Health Minister Mark Butler is solely to blame for Australia’s youth vaping crisis and the rampant black market.
“For the last two years, the Australian Government has completely failed to control the nicotine vaping black market, with millions of cheap, unregulated, child-targeted vapes flooding into Australia and being sold by black market criminals each week.
“Australia can’t afford more of the same, it’s time the Government strictly regulates vaping products as an adult-only product like alcohol and tobacco with severe restrictions to remove all youth-targeted flavours and packaging.”
The focus group of 1,518 parents revealed that 71 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that Australia should adopt a similar regulatory regime for vapes through licensed retail outlets such as NZ, the UK, the EU and the USA.
“Strictly regulating and controlling vaping products for adults-only has been shown to reduce youth vaping rates by more than 65 per cent in the United States and 19 per cent in New Zealand, yet the Health Minister continues to double down on his prohibition failure.
“AACS is urging all senators to oppose Labor’s legislation that will only worsen Australia’s youth vaping crisis and push the Government to adopt the same strict regulatory model for alcohol and tobacco that has been proven to protect adult consumers with regulated products while reducing underage access,” said Foukkare.
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