From October 2021, you will need a medical prescription to vape in Australia
As the sale of liquid nicotine is currently banned in Australia, vapers must import to obtain it.
Here, during a cricket match between England and Australia, in Manchester on September 5, 2019. (illustration) Action Images via Reuters - Jason Cairnduff
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The Australian government announced on Monday, December 21 that from October 2021, a medical prescription will be required to purchase liquid nicotine for electronic cigarettes.
The decision is criticized by vapers, but also by doctors, who believe that vaping is certainly harmful, but infinitely less than cigarettes.
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With our correspondent in Sydney,
Grégory Plesse
It takes 20 to 25 euros for a pack of cigarettes in Australia.
Electronic cigarettes are becoming more and more numerous.
But it may not last.
The Ministry of Health wants to make the sale of liquid nicotine possible
only on medical prescription
.
The goal is to prevent young people from having access to it because
the electronic cigarette
would be a gateway to the classic cigarette, according to the authorities.
Chantelle, who quit smoking thanks to vaping, does not believe it and completely disapproves of this decision.
“
I think it's ridiculous
!
she declares.
Of course, it has to be regulated, but it should remain easy to access, because it is
less harmful than cigarettes
, in my opinion.
"
The number of smokers is no longer decreasing
His opinion is shared by part of the medical community.
Like Dr. Joe Kosterich, who is also the president of an association that helps smokers quit.
According to him, “
the British government has shown that vaping is 95
% less harmful than smoking.
Putting barriers in front of people who want to quit smoking through vaping makes no sense.
On the contrary, it could lead some people to resume smoking
”.
The
number of smokers has not decreased
in Australia for ten years.
However, it is very low: 13 to 14% of the population smokes, which is
two times less than in France
.
Approximately 500,000 people are addicted to vaping in Australia, according to official figures, a significant number given that in order to have liquid nicotine you have to import it.
Its sale is in fact prohibited there.
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Read also: South Korea on the verge of losing control of the Covid-19 pandemic
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