At the National Press Club’s health policy debate during last year’s federal election, Greg Hunt was asked by Tim Shaw – yes, the Demtel guy – “when will you authorise the vaping product alternative [to cigarettes]?”

Hunt responded unequivocally: “That is not something that on my watch I’m willing to countenance”, “It’s not something I support”, [...] Given that authorising vaping was not something Hunt was willing to countenance so long as he was the Health Minister, it was a rude shock when in March 2020, his department and the Therapeutic Goods Administration sought to do so – by allowing nicotine vapes to be sold from a pharmacy [...]