In Australia, a federal ban on nicotine e-liquid and e-cigarettes remains in place despite substantial interest in vaping in the country.
While vaping is legal in the country, the purchase of prefilled nicotine cartridges and e-cigs as well as the purchase of nicotine e-juice remains illegal under federal law. Of course, there is an exception: medical exemption.
With proper recommendation in the form of a prescription from a licensed physician (a doctor’s note), one can still import nicotine e-juice and similar nicotine-based vape products for personal use.
Analyzing global search trends via Google Trends, Vaporizer Wire found that Australians search for “vape” and “vaporizer” related keywords more than most other countries. In fact, it ranks so high in the list that it comes in third, just behind the United States, which nips closely on the heels of Canada.
Here are the top 5 regions that have shown the most interest in “vape” and “vaporizer” related searches:
- Canada – 100
- United States – 97
- Australia – 61
- New Zealand – 54
- Puerto Rico – 48
With so much interest in vaping, it may come as a surprise to some to find that vaping nicotine is illegal in Australia – that is, unless one has a formal medical recommendation from a doctor to do so.
On January 11, 2018, the Australian government’s Department of Health released a statement in which they attempted to rationalize their current policy position in regards to vaping nicotine. In explaining themselves, they cited various “evidence” that they referred to as the “latest evidence,” only the latest piece of evidence they referenced was from no sooner than April 2017. Additionally, they failed to cite a single study from a growing body evidence in support of vaping, of which there is much.
From what we can tell, the Australian government’s Department of Health selected only sources of “evidence” in support of their policy, as opposed to citing the vast number of studies with findings contradictory to their current position.
Non-nicotine vaporizers are currently legal in Australia. Only nicotine vaping products remain illegal as a result of the country’s federal ban. Meanwhile, cigarettes are still for sale across the country to those who meet the legal age requirement.
What do you think of Australia’s nicotine vaping ban?
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