Yeah. It is rough.
And here:
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/01/australia-to-ban-non-prescription-vapes-in-biggest-smoking-reforms-in-a-decadeAnd all over various media: printed, TV and various social media sites.
Oh and ... Hi all. *waves* It's been a long time. A lot been happening in my world, but that's for another day and in another thread.
The vape law changes.
A bit of history first. Been quite a while with a lot of media reporting about the "Vape epidemic" specially regarding kids vaping disposables. And this has been ramping up a lot over the last year.
Our last set of law changes (2 or 3 years ago) made it such that, to vape nic legally, one had to obtain a Doc's script for the nic. That script could be filled at a pharmacy OR, ordered from OS against that script = ala the "personal import scheme".
Trouble with this is three fold:
a) the TGA have a limited number of Doctors who are allowed to prescibe nic. And the Doc's associations are strongly advising their member Docs NOT to issue those scripts - because "nic = bad".
b) There are very few pharmacies who import and/or hold nic to be able to dispense it.
c) it was to be part of a "taper down and quit" plan.
Locally Vape shops sell hardware (mods. atties, batteries and such) and fluids (premixed nic free flavoured juice) and/or concentrates/PG/VG. Oh, and also the aux items like wick and wire, coil heads and such. BUT no shop could sell that essential nic.
Yes. Plenty of "blackmarket" stuff around. Whilst I've never looked let alone bought any, apparently plenty of places sell "under the counter" nic laced disposable/pod style vapes. Places like "servos", various smoke shops, 7-eleven style convenience stores and such.
Separately - the market in "chop-chop" (blackmarket tobacco) has exploded. Again, like the vapes, bought from places who supply from under the counter or backroom. This, largely, because the tax on legal tobacco is monstrous. Apparently, a packet of 25 smokes now costs in the region of $45 or so bucks === and damn! Am I ever glad I'm not paying that sorta money for my "fix". But that's an aside.
Separately, a few months ago, one of the senior federal pollies outlined how they were so many billion down as a result of smokers ... not smoking - but rather going for the vapes.
Queue recent announcements about the clampdown on vapes as posted by
Postmodern Smoking above.
First: It is not yet law. It was part of an advanced "budget announcement" relating to the annual budget soon to be released by our Federal Government. The vape items announced and so widely reported in the press have not yet been passed as law, let alone invoked.
I understand it, the drafting of the various laws has not yet been completed - so the actual specific solid detail is .... lacking.
BUT - as press says:
* No importing of nic from OS - script or not.
* Nic only available from chemists - same as other prescription only drigs.
* TGA authority required for each and every type/style of vape device allowed to be sold.
* Vape device will only allowed to be sold in a pharmacy.
* Non-nic vape liquid = banned.
* Vape accessories = banned - unless sold as a "tga approved" item thro a pharmacy.
* No single use disposables.
* No - there is no actual suggestion that I've seen anywhere that the act of vaping itself is to be made illegal, it's just how you source the items needed to go about it.
Basically - as Postmodern posted - they wanna kill "recreational vaping" and have it totally "medicalised" thro a Doc script and have the supply of all "vape stuffs" come from a pharmacy.
Around the traps there has been plenty of talk from all sorts that range from "business as usual" thro to "end of the world". Which is to be expected. BUT various Facebook and reddit areas have had a bunch of vape shop owners post, suggesting that they are all but done in. There are various people trying "rear guard" actions to get the Pollies to change their mind, but I don't hold out too many hopes of success.
Summary:
They wanna ban vaping in Australia. Over the years they have introduced some rules that have made vaping harder to get into, and now they seem to be going the "whole hog".
Those of us old hands at vaping - like me (near 10 years !), have seen and taken notice of the looming threats in this country. We've stocked up. We will be right. BUT newies looking to get off the smokes now will not have the same options available I/we did "back then". And that's sad.
