What does the TGA consultation on Nicotine Vaping Product mean for Vaping?

Talk to any Principal, Teacher or anyone connected with young people, including the young people themselves, about Vaping impacts for our youth and get ready for a conversation filled with deep concern, helplessness, confusion and frustration. Being at the frontline they are seeing first hand the National epidemic, vape products have created in our homes and communities. Everyday combatting misinformation, myths and unscrupulous marketing and sales to young people of these devices. Are their voices being heard?

Some good news came out in November last year from the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) seeking public comment on potential reforms to the regulation of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) in Australia. The potential reforms are aimed at preventing children and adolescents from accessing NVPs, while supporting access to products of known composition and quality for smoking cessation with a doctor’s prescription. Submissions closed 16th January.

What does this mean? Basically the Government is responding to the avalanche of Vape Products arrriving in Australia, health impacts, harms and demands from those in the pro-camp to enable more products available to sell legitimately into the country and even receive taxes from their sale. They are working to develop policy that will pave the way forward for us as a society. In a nutshell we are on the precipice of reform in this area and it could be really good or could go so very wrong depending on which voices are the strongest.

The submissions received will be published for viewing, however some are publicly making their statements known early to add weight to the campaigns for and against. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) published their media release 16th January, arguably a voice we should be taking notice of considering the health impacts already widely known.

“AMA President Professor Stephen Robson said Australia had been a world-leader on tobacco and nicotine control for decades but has dropped the ball with vaping.  

“Vaping is not harmless, it is not safe, it is not part of tobacco control,” Professor Robson said.”  

Whilst the TGA’s call is mainly focused on Nicotine containing vape products, the AMA seeks for the review to be expanded to all vape products, pointing to research that a vast majority of apparent non-nicotine vape products being tested, actually do have nicotine in them and the products are clearly aimed at youth via design, social media, online and shop fronts.

The Minderoo Foundation within their submission also called for more to be done in the area of border control and importation of illegal products and illegal sales especially to children, with clear links to non-smoking youth that vape more likely to move to smoking traditional cigarettes.

“The links between kids vaping and taking up smoking are real — we know that non-smokers who vape are three times more likely to take up smoking as non-smokers who don’t vape,” Minderoo spokeswoman Tess Howard said.

“If we don’t do something now, we are going to see another ­generation of Australians addicted to nicotine.”

VicHealth likewise submitted that the review needed to be broadened with chief executive health officer Sandro Demaio noting targeting of youth via fruity flavours, packaging and shapes appealing to youth and deceptive appearances like hoodie toggles and highlighters.

"Young people are clearly being targeted and targeted very successfully, the government needs to step up and take action,"

There are of course many in support of NVP and non-NVP to be more broadly available, even encouraging the Government to start taxing the products intimating that significant tax revenue will be available to go into the health system, education etc. We must be cautious of the Trojan Horse as we have clearly seen in America, proponents pushing for this legalisation opened the doors for even more harmful products to be available through these devices. Those promised funds delivered were never as high as purported and do not get to where they need. The harm and cost to individuals, families and whole communities is significant, with major back pedalling to take back ground lost seen to date in several states of the US.

Watch this space, keep informed and if you are concerned connect with your local MP’s both State and Federal on this issue, your voice does have impact.