Read articles from Oceania

January 03, 2024 by smh.com.au

The Australian Border Force will struggle to stop single-use vapes coming into the country under the national crackdown on recreational vaping, a former federal police and Border Force officer has warned, pointing to the fact the ABF only manages to detect a quarter of illegal drugs. From Monday, the federal government has banned the importation of disposable single-use vapes – irrespective of whether they contain nicotine – in the first stage of its reforms aimed at stopping the growth of vaping among young people.

January 02, 2024 by theguardian.com

This year the Australian government is introducing a series of measures to restrict the availability of vapes, starting 1 January. The new reforms address loopholes in the current laws that allow easy access to highly addictive, flavoured, cheap, and harmful vaping products that are marketed to kids. Vaping products will still be available through a prescription for anyone using them to quit smoking. But the Therapeutic Goods Administration will tightly regulate prescription-only vapes.

December 15, 2023 by filtermag.org

After nearly a decade advocating for vaping as a tobacco harm reduction strategy in Australia, I am stepping away from the field to retire. Witnessing Australia’s descent over these years, from its former status as a global leader in tobacco control to the current slow-moving train wreck, has been profoundly distressing. Where vaping is seen by other Western democracies as a huge opportunity for public health, successive Australian governments have framed it as a threat. The ensuing prohibitive regulations have neutralized the potential benefits and led to troubling and escalating unintended consequences.

December 13, 2023 by nzherald.co.nz

Snuff and smokeless tobacco are being considered as tools to help smokers quit under the new Government’s smokefree plans. And while those products have contributed to reduced smoking rates overseas, New Zealand experts on tobacco control are sceptical about whether they would be successful here. The National-led Government has promised to scrap the previous government’s anti-smoking laws, prompting widespread condemnation from the healthcare sector and generating global headlines.

December 07, 2023 by theguardian.com

Over the past four years, David has made complaints to his local council, police, the Australian Taxation Office and federal and state politicians about the illicit tobacco and vape store that opened across the road from his home. With a “cash only” sign, vapes visible on the shelves through the windows, and people frequently leaving the store carrying illicit tobacco packets in plain sight, David says even the local police have acknowledged that illegal trade is occurring. He says it is one of the busiest stores in his small town in the Gippsland region of Victoria, east of Melbourne. And that angers him, he says, “because I pay my taxes every year”.

December 06, 2023 by filtermag.org

New Zealand’s new coalition government plans to abandon the country’s world-first policy of an incremental smoking ban, in order to fund tax cuts. Just as the original policy divided expert opinion, so has news of its repeal. [...] Proponents said that this and other measures in the package, like reducing the number of tobacco retailers by 90 percent and cutting the legal amount of nicotine in cigarettes, would help the country reach its goal of being “smokefree” (prevalence below 5 percent) by 2025. No similar restrictions were imposed on vape sales.

December 05, 2023 by colinmendelsohn.com.au

WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME from Mark Butler’s draconian restrictions on vaping? Having dusted off my crystal ball, here’s my take: Butler's ban is likely to fail, setting the stage for an eventual shift towards a more progressive vaping policy in 2025.

The key elements of Butler’s crackdown are

• Continued enforcement of the failed prescription model
• Restrictive product standards: only tobacco or mint flavours, a likely maximum nicotine limit of 20mg/mL and pharmaceutical-style packaging
• A complete ban on disposable vaping products
• Prohibition of personal importation of vaping liquids and devices
• Mandatory pre-approval for all legal products by manufacturers or importers.

November 28, 2023 by smh.com.au

Disposable vapes won’t be allowed into Australia from New Year’s Day under the federal government’s bold plans to stop a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine. Australia’s ambition to become the first country to limit vaping to people with a prescription will be rolled out in several phases next year, starting with an import ban on single-use products and an expanded access scheme for medical use from the start of 2024.

November 27, 2023 by bbc.com

New Zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the nation's world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts. The legislation, introduced under the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, and the policy had aimed to stop young generations from picking up the habit. Health experts have strongly criticised the sudden reversal. "We are appalled and disgusted... this is an incredibly retrograde step on world-leading, absolutely excellent health measures," said Prof Richard Edwards, a tobacco control researcher and public health expert at the University of Otago.

November 24, 2023 by bloomberg.com

New Zealand’s vaunted laws aimed at making the country smoke-free will be repealed by its new center-right government. Legislation banning tobacco sales to people born after 2008 will be dumped by the new administration, according to coalition agreements released Friday in Wellington. The new government, which comprises the National, ACT and New Zealand First parties, will also stop a plan to reduce in the number of retail outlets