What You Don't Know About Vaping In Australia
- Pippa Starr
- Mar 29
- 24 min read
by Pam Mulholland & Kim Bure
29 March 2025
There is a very large group of people whose voices have been purposefully and effectively silenced by the Australian Government, Australian media and Australian health authorities.
We refer to the approximately 1.7 million adults who vape, the overwhelming majority being people who have previously smoked and who make up 94-96% of vapers in this country. They are also the group vaping was always intended for as a scientifically proven means of significant harm reduction.
In New Zealand this reality is recognised and catered for to the extent that switching from smoking to vaping is promoted and supported. As of the 1st of January this year (2025) free vape kits are being offered to adults via New Zealand’s quit smoking services. This follows the example of the UK where, as part of a government initiated public health program, kits are being offered to a million adult smokers in a scheme called ‘Swap to Stop’.
Both countries also have regulated and age restricted retail markets stocking a wide variety of reusable devices and of e-liquid flavours.
The reason these two countries have those policies is because vaping works.
It is indisputably the most effective and popular method of quitting or substituting for smoking and, while it may not be completely risk free, is less harmful than smoking by orders of magnitude.
Why Australia has instead demonised vaping and adopted the most restrictive legislation in the world, not far short of total prohibition, is a question for another time.
Our purpose here is to give voice to the silenced.
Opposition to the legislation before it was enacted was strong. E-petitions to the federal government can officially take signatures for a maximum of four weeks. In the four weeks up to the 6th of March 2024 an e- petition to Parliament opposing the then proposed legislation was signed at a rate of over 7,000 per week for a total of 28,679. The majority of those petitioners will have been adult ex-smoking vapers and only those who knew about the petition and how to sign it. That is, about 1.6% of Australian adults who had already successfully transitioned from smoking to vaping, many having vaped with minimal government interference for longer than ten years.
While e-liquids containing nicotine could never be sold in vape stores in Australia they could be imported legally via the Personal Importation Scheme prior to March 1st 2024. Alternatively, nicotine could be imported and added to locally sold liquids.This was a long time practice not easily or at all accessible to youth and the quality devices used were reusable as opposed to the disposables that have subsequently flooded the black market.
On the 27th of March 2024 public submissions were sought by the 12th of April on the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reform) Bill 2024. Of the 281 published submissions the vast majority , 84% were opposed to the legislation. Those opposing (total of 236) included 19 Professors, 11 Doctors and 12 other experts including a criminologist and a law enforcement officer. Only 16% (45) of the submissions were in support and among those 20% (9) were submissions from the state branches of a national cancer organisation. Most supporting submissions were from Australian health authorities or tobacco control academics – in other words ‘The Establishment’.
Attached (below) you will find quotes from submissions by individual adult vapers. We have included only those where numerical information was provided.
Of twenty-seven (27) submitters the average age was 55;
of forty-seven (47) submitters the average number of years smoking was 30;
of fifty-two (52) submitters the average number of years vaping was 8.
These are very much success stories and the ones that, for nefarious reasons, the wider Australian public is not hearing about. They also represent the tip of the iceberg as, again, only vapers who knew about the option to make a submission and how to do it participated.
It is not possible to overstate the negative impact of government, media and health authorities demonisation and restriction of vaping on mature, conscientious adult vapers who are following the science; experiencing immediate health benefits; know they are reducing their chances of succumbing to smoking related diseases or worse, death, and wish to help as many other smokers as possible share in their good fortune.
There has been (and still is) great stress, anger, fear and resentment in the Australian adult vaping community. There is also an unwavering determination to continue the fight for the right to choose to vape unimpeded by legislation designed to – and I quote Health Minister Mark Butler “stamp it out.”
In addition to the attached quotes, in the links below you will find the full published submissions opposing the legislation.
One link is to adult vapers and related entities, the other is to Professors, Doctors and other experts.
You will see that adult vapers were as concerned as everyone else about youth vaping and the availability of disposable vapes via the black market.
Expand Here To See Vapers Quotes
Vapers
Professors, Doctors and other experts
