New legislation in Australia means that vapes can only be bought in pharmacies, with e-liquid only available in three flavours. What are the likely consequences of this, in a country where the black market for vaping products is already booming?
Transcription:
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Joanna Junak: Hello and welcome. I'm Joanna Junak and this is GFN News on GFN.TV. Australia still has many issues to resolve regarding vaping regulations. Constant misinformation about the use of safer nicotine products leads to frequent changes in regulations, not necessarily for the better. Joining us today is Dr Colin Mendelsohn, an academic and researcher in tobacco treatment who will tell us what's been happening in Australia over the summer. Hello Colin, can you tell us the latest news from Australia regarding vaping regulations?
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Colin Mendelsohn: Yes, the big news from Australia is that the long-standing prescription model for nicotine vaping has been scrapped. In June, the Health Minister tried to push even stricter regulations through Parliament, but to get the numbers, the requirement to have a doctor's prescription, which has been in place since 2011, had to be dropped. But this has now been replaced by an unworkable pharmacy model. So from the 1st of October, vapers will only be able to purchase legally e-liquids and hardware from pharmacies, but they won't need a prescription. This is already proving problematic. Pharmacy groups have expressed strong opposition to this change and many are refusing to participate. Pharmacists are understandably angry because they weren't consulted about these changes before they were introduced. And since vapes aren't officially approved as medicines, pharmacists are worried about the potential legal liabilities of dispensing these products. Pharmacists are also required to have a detailed consultation with every customer, yet there's no remuneration for the service. The vapers are also not happy. They're frustrated about needing to get approval from a pharmacist, and they're concerned about the product restrictions. So only tobacco, mint and menthol will be available. Nicotine will be capped at 20 milligrams per mil. The range of products at each pharmacy will likely be very small and only a month can be dispensed at a time. So vapers are asking, why do I need to pay more to get a product I don't want from a pharmacy when I can buy deadly cigarettes anywhere?
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Joanna Junak: What do you think will happen now?
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Colin Mendelsohn: Well unfortunately I don't see this ending well. People who vape are very angry and anxious about the changes. Some will relapse to smoking and we're already seeing that. But we expect most vapers will continue to buy unregulated products from the black market which will continue to sell vapes to young people. The black market is a big concern. It's largely controlled by organised crime. It's engaged in a violent turf war to control market share. Over the last 18 months, there have been over 100 vape and tobacco shops firebombed. There have been contract killings, extortion, and we're seeing vulnerable young people recruited to carry out violent acts. And this is only going to get worse. health minister thinks that he'll be able to crack down on importation and the sale of illicit vapes but we can already see that's not working and history tells us that the supply will continue despite these efforts. In my opinion it's only a matter of time before the pharmacy model collapses. I'd be surprised if it lasts more than 12 months.
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Joanna Junak: And what has happened to the vape shops?
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Colin Mendelsohn: Well, all the vape shops and manufacturers have been forced to close now in Australia because it's illegal to sell any vape juice, device or accessory outside a pharmacy. This is a real tragedy. Vape shops were legal businesses which provided a valuable public health service, giving expert advice and support to help hundreds of thousands of smokers to quit by switching to vaping. And now that critical service has been lost. The government's refused to provide any compensation to vape shop owners, leading to enormous financial stress and bankruptcies. It's also resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and tax revenue for the government. So it's a disaster all round.
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Joanna Junak: Thank you, Colin. That's all for today. Tune in next time here on GFN TV or on our podcast. You can also find transcriptions of each episode on the GFN TV website. Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time.