Government’s own review of vaping laws lifts the lid on a chaotic policy that will pack out GP waiting rooms and cost consumers millions

The Federal Government’s own report has revealed the true cost of Labor’s new rules restricting the sale of vapes to consumers with a prescription in a pharmacy.

The new vape policy – which will be fully implemented by 1 March 2024 – was the focus of a recent impact analysis for the Department of Health and Aged Care. 

The report estimates that 450,000 Australians will turn to local GPs for a vape prescription twice a year, choking an already stretched national healthcare system.

It also estimates that the cost to consumers will be more than $50 million per year.

LVA Director Brian Marlow said that Labor’s policy would have a real effect on everyday Australians not just adult vapers.

“If the government knows that their vape policy will force almost half a million legal vapers to visit a GP twice a year, they also know that waiting times will increase for everyone,” said Mr Marlow. “How much more will it cost Australians to access healthcare?

“By this government’s own estimations, its new policy will directly cost legal consumers a billion dollars over the next decade to visit the GP and purchase vapes for a pharmacist.

“Labor’s vape policy is just not credible. It risks slowing down the healthcare system while ignoring the incentive for black market operators to sell cheap vapes.

“The government is blind to the obvious solution: regulate vapes like alcohol and tobacco, just like they do in the US, UK, and other OECD countries.”

Australia’s prescription-only vape policy is a global outlier, with many nations promoting the benefits of vapes as a cessation aid and recognising the risks of incentivising the black market.

In the US – where vapes are regulated in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco – a study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) showed high-school vaping fell by 30% in 2023 under its regulated model.

Meanwhile, a Cochrane Review published in January this year found that for every 100 people using nicotine e-cigarettes to stop smoking, 8 to 10 might successfully stop, compared with only 6 of 100 people using nicotine-replacement therapy. Cochrane Reviews are internationally recognised as the highest standard in evidence-based healthcare. In other words, vapes are the best quit smoking aid you can find. 

“While Minister Mark Butler has stubbornly pursued his new vape rules, he has turned his back on the success of some of our closest allies to regulate vapes and shut down the black market,” Mr Marlow said.

“These nations now collect millions of dollars of vape taxes each year which can be reinvested into services like healthcare, while reducing government resources to police the black market.

“Instead in this country, we are pursuing a policy that will likely keep the black market vape dealers in business while pushing law-abiding vaping into GP waiting rooms.

“Regulating vapes is the clear solution and is proven to work. The Albanese Government has been captured by elites and is pursuing a policy that everyday Australians can see is impractical, needlessly complex and costly. It is time the government stopped experimenting and instead regulate vapes just like alcohol and tobacco.”