BY JOAHANNA WICKRAMARATNE

Experts have called for policies that help young people adjust to life without vaping, as the Federal Government moves to introduce controls on recreational vaping and e-cigarette sales nationwide. 

The Department of Health and Aged Care last month announced that the 2023–24 federal budget includes $737 million to reform the younger generation of nicotine addicts. Non-prescription vape imports will be stopped, and e-cigarette flavours and nicotine concentrations will be limited. Most importantly, the reforms will ban single-use disposable vapes.

Haley Barnes, a respiratory physician at The Alfred who works with patients who suffer irreversible lung conditions from vaping, said she is concerned by how addictive vaping has become.

“Some patients even say they fall asleep at night with a vape in their hands,” said Dr Barnes, who is also a Monash University research fellow.

Vape flavours often contain diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious and progressive lung disease.

“The effects of inhaling this is more severe for youth brain development,” Dr Barnes said.

She wants the new policies to make vapes inaccessible to young people without harming them.

“I don’t want to see another reason for youth to be jailed or have significant health penalties,” she said. “This will be hard to get right.”

Tobacco control researcher for Cancer Council Victoria and Melbourne University professor of psychology Ron Borland researches strategies to help people successfully quit smoking.

“No solution is going to eliminate nicotine use in our society, but new policies can minimise harm for youth,” Professor Borland said.

He said prohibiting vapes might drive down consumption, but it’s not the most effective method.

“Unless they can successfully crack down on the black market, young people will find a way to purchase e-cigarettes,” he said. “The one thing you want to do is to stop people smoking them long-term.”

Professor Borland has a recommendation. “An upfront cost or taxation policy for purchasing vapes might discourage kids because products won’t be going around as much," he said.

Like Dr Barnes, he believes young smokers will need help adjusting to life without vaping.

“What do you expect people who have depended on vaping to do when it suddenly becomes unavailable? They will turn to cigarettes."

Dr Barnes said as the reforms are introduced, "there needs to be support for people quitting e-cigarettes, particularly youth who may not have easy access to health care”.

The Australian Government said it will prioritise making prescription vapes available as a quitting treatment.