E-Cigarettes Are Banned In Australia?
Is there no end to the stupidity the Government can commit in the name of “protecting the children”? It’s bad enough that we have to become the world’s laughing stock with attempts to filter the internet, but now technology that helps smokers kick the habit without harming non-smokers is outlawed because it might seem cool to kids.While the original News.com.au article focuses on the fact that sites like ebay have been selling e-cigarettes online, in my opinion the bigger issue is that they’re outlawed in Australia at all. After all, they only produce vapour (not acrid smoke), don’t actually burn anything so they’re a lot healthier for smokers (although smoking nicotine vapour still isn’t good for you), and come with a price tag that should keep them out of hands of most young people today.
So why are they outlawed? Well, considering News quoted Health Minister Nicola Roxon as saying, “This looks like another insidious, manipulative attempt to hook people on smoking,” before adding “I’d be very concerned about any attempts to promote smoking, especially to young people,” I’m going to say that it’s probably because this Government is stupid.
As a vehement non-smoker, I can honestly say that I would rather smell a slightly pungent vapour than burning tobacco smoke. If they were really serious about protecting the kids from the evils of nicotine, then smoking in public would be outlawed as a prelude to banning all tobacco products. Of course, that will never happen, so this latest attempt to kill a technology that actually benefits both smokers and non-smokers is ignorant at best and arrogant at worst, especially with the reasons given by the minister.
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Comments
Govt is probably annoyed cos they can’t tax these e-cigs.
Although I must say Big Boss lolly/cigars at tuckshop in primary school must have had an affect as I’m now a smoker.
Yeah right.
Maybe because theye are not as safe as you may think…
see: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm173401.htm
Why do you care banning smokes in Home/second life does not affect anyone. I just wish that they grow a pair and could ban them all together not because kids or some bullshit but because it sucks when your out somewhere and having a drink while some dope mofo is having a stinking cigar.
I think the politics is the real problem ‘protect your kids’ unfortunately brainless sheep fall into this fascist trap far too many times. I believe it was one of the early US Presidents who was quoted on saying something great like
“controlling a people (or something) is quite easy if you can convince them you are acting to protect their children”
sorry if i come off as some hyper uber conspiracy theorist tin hat wearing freak but i really am not.
I am always happy to join in a nanny state outcry, but in this case, it appears some thought did go into it. Pages 126 to 144 of the Poisons Committee October 2008 report go into a fair bit of detail as to why the cigarettes stayed banned. It also includes the following amusing passage, in reference to the advertising of the cigarettes on the gamucci website:
The website graphics portray a sexy party girl, James Bond style
image.
I work in a place where smoking is banned but still a lot of people light up. Policing real smoking is hard enough without having people with fake cigarettes muddying the waters. I will waste time asking people to put them out and then apologising when they explain it is fake(and they have to explain that it is fake); and other customers will see the fake smoke and assume they can smoke too, lighting up the real thing.
I have 2 of these i was given as a gift. I’m not normally a smoker but occasionally smoke when drinking. I have used mine as a novelty, is a great party trick. It emits a pleasant very mild smell that is hard to pick up on unless you are very very close to the person.
I think this decision is ridiculous, another stupid bandaid fix to a massive issue.
Simple.The Health Minister is supporting the tobacco industry.
I think banning these is ridiculous. I think they should just give people who use these some credit for making a healthier choice for themselves and others.
Govt could make it & tax.(Plus, we need cartridge for smoke)
Come on. Electronic ciga doesn’t have space technology.
Don’t be so scary.
E-cigarettes may ostensibly seem safer than a traditional cigarette. However there is no real conclusive, convincing evidence as yet as to whether they are really safe. Nicotine is a Schedule 7 poison (unless sold in cigarettes or in nicotine replacement medicines) because it is a highly toxic substance. It doesn’t take a massive single dose of the stuff to kill you (just 40mg in a single oral dose if I remember right). Cigarettes have been around forever. We know what they do to people – they are poisonous and there’s a good chance they will make you sick or even kill you if you smoke them long enough. The only reason they are still around is because banning them outright is just not a practical solution. They’ve just been around for too long and too many people are still addicted to them. The whole industry would go underground.
But e-cigarettes are new and not an established, accepted means of nicotine delivery yet. There are good questions to be asked. What effect does inhaling propylene glycol have on the lungs long-term? E-cigarettes don’t burn down like ordinary cigarettes – conceivably you can just keep inhaling until you need to recharge them. How much risk of nicotine overdose is there? These kinds of valid questions need to be answered before we approve e-cigarettes.
If they are proven to be safe and an effective aid to quitting smoking then sure, approve them, especially as a nicotine replacement therapy. But we don’t know that yet. I reckon the TGA has done the right thing in banning them until we know more about these things (especially as most of them come from Asian factories which may not follow the same health & safety regulations as we do).
i started smoking when i was 12. became regular when i was 15, got into alot of trouble in school when i was caught repeatedly. im now 26 ive quit probably 9 times using various methods. patches helped but they gave me awful nightmares, laugh all you like, im not going back to patches.
now the e-cig has given alot of people the power to fully quit the act of smoking, in countries its legal, so i have to ask why cant we have the same?
if i were a conspiracy nut i would say this is the governments attempt to keep the cigarette industry in business because i truely beleive something like this is the answer to the health hazards of smoking. vapour smoking is the future.
the sooner australian cig manufactorers and distributers jump on the bandwagon the better it will be for everyone.
does anyone know how i would go about raising this issue so parliment reviews their decision?
i’m not a smoker. and i find the smell of cigarette’s putrid. however, my best friend is a smoker who wants to quit. i support him for that. why take away the one tool that might actually make a difference? it’s absolutely ridiculous. it’s wrong, and it’s pushing smokers into continuing, not quitting.
I FIND IT INCREDIBLE THAT THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE, IT SEEMS BANNED ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES,WHILST STILL ALLOWING THE REAL HARMFUL TOBACCO CIGARETTE TO BE SOLD IN AUSTRALIA.WHY?WHY?WHY?.THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS,TAX TAX TAX…WE AT CECORETTES WELLCOME A DEBATE ON THE MUCH SAFER ECIGARETTE SPECIFICALLY AS THEY COME NICOTINE FREE.
WE AS A COMPANY WOULD WELCOME TAXING THE NICOTINE VERSION IN LINE WITH ALL OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
THE FDA IS BEING SUED IN THE USA FOR THE VERY SAME REASON,AND THE ONLY FAIR OUTCOME WILL BE TO ALLOW THE IMPORT OF CECORETTES INTO AUSTRALIA AND THE USA AS IN EUROPE OR BAN ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS FULLSTOP.YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE RULE FOR THE TOBACCO GIANTS AND ANOTHER FOR THE SMALLER COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE A MUCH HEALTHIER PRODUCT WITH CONSIDERABLY LESS HARMFUL EFFECTS.
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA ECIGARETTES ARE HERE TO STAY,DONT MAKE THEM ILLEGAL,THIS IS THE ENVIROMENTALLY FRIENDLY FUTURE FOR SMOKERS THAT DO NOT SMELL OR POLUTE THE ENVIROMENT,LET ALONE POSE ANY FIRE RISK THAT HAS FOR YEARS CAUSED DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN YOUR FOREST FIRES.
I am so disappointed with this situation.
Here I am 54 years of age been smoking since I was 13 years of age. I have given up more than four occasions only to get ‘pulled’ ‘lulled’ back after 3 or 4 months. The serious dangers of TOBACCO smoking is known.
We smoke ‘TOBACCO’ to gain the nicotine hit plain and simple. TOBACCO cigarettes are now made far more addictive than they used to be.
I feel part of the problem is stigma, stigma and associations around the word ‘Smoking’ and ‘Cigarettes’
The e cigarettes are NOT smoking they are an alternative way to gain nicotine.
As for me I am now going to stop saying I am a smoker, I am not…What I am is a ‘TOBACCO SMOKER’ and its the burning and inhalation of that ‘TOBACCO’ that is killing me NOT the nicotine I get from it.
Chew ‘TOBACCO’ and you will get mouth cancers etc ask the many S Baseball players what they think on that. They have seen many a face removed!
I for one am just about fed up to the hind teeth of our so called National Government playing around with my life, outcomes and desires and wishes. To make it eve worse we also have a State Government that does the same and we also have Local Councils that also do the same. Almost 99% of our life is governed and controlled and barred and sliced and defined by those fewe people above.
I for one would like to know what we can do about decisions that CLEARLY are the wrong ones.
This decision may well cost the lives of hundreds if not thousands of Australian TOBACCO SMOKERS,
Its put more money into an industry that kills for profit, its taken away the potential benefits of a whole new technology the likes of what have not been seen for say at least 50 years in and around Cigarettes and its industry.
Its allowed the huge medical and family cost of ‘TOBACCO SMOKING’ to now continue for years to come rather than save multi millions of Dollars and Heartache.
Please don’t say well GIVE UP TOBACCO SMOKING, wake up…its known that all the products to help stop ‘THE SMOKING OF TOBACCO’ have a 95% failure rate. That’s why for one when I found out about e cigarettes for nicotine I honestly thought the following. MY GOD MY POTENTIAL FOR A SHORT LIFE HAS NOW BEEN REMOVED. What has really happened is the Government has now taken away my ability to make decisions based on my own experience and situation and have forced me into a corner of continuing to probably feed there and others profit pockets in return for my years and life.
I am now once again a … very pissed of TOBACCO SMOKER slowly Dying not because of its addictive quality but its TOBACCO!
David Dell.
Perth.
To all of you whingers that hate smokers, have a think about this. Two thirds of the sale price of cigarettes go the state and fed government which gross billions of dollars in taxes. If all us who enjoy a smoke gave up overnight make no mistake, your income tax would double to make up the shortfall. Be gratefull that we continue to light up you pontificating a…holes!
Ban this comment for all I care! And I’m still as healthy as a mallee bull after 60 years of smoking. Outlived countless nonsmokers I’d say.
I only just found out about e-cigarettes, from a side advert while I was surfing the web, and my first thought was “Yay, I’ve gotta get me some of these!”..
I’ve been a smoker for 20 years and have had various attempts at giving up (patches, cold turkey, gum, cold turkey, inhalers) to no avail. I’d end up quitting for a few months then get that next whiff of smoke while out on the town and be straight back on it.
I’m not a heavy smoker anymore.. Maybe a packet of 25 a week plus another packet if I go out on the weekend… Because of this, the e-cigarette appeals to me! I have to say I’m super disappointed that this is banned here in Aus :(
And I’m just cynical enough to believe that it might have something to do with the tax revenue made from smokers. Do you seriously believe that kids could afford this? Most children start off smoking by ferreting away a couple smokes from their parents or scabbing off people on the street/at school/friends. There is NO WAY that someone could scab an e-cigarette off someone! And I’m pretty sure parents would notice if their e-cigarette went missing. Besides, I very much doubt that real cigarettes are going to be banned any time soon, which is where the real problem lies for those just starting to smoke.
You can still order these online. I am having mine delivered next week. I know that the website says they aren’t allowed to ship to America because of the ban but they said they have had no problems shipping to Australia. I hope it is ok.. I’ll let you know if I get it or not.
If you actually read around, even on the FDA website itself, the results of those studies were inconclusive and actually pointed more IN FAVOUR of e-Cigs than against. There are many other actually more thorough studies that have been done that concluded to the contrary of the FDA but still the governments of the “developed” countries fight against the truth for the sake of the holy dollar.
It’s shameful and just goes to show you that Australia is still as backwards as it was in the 1950’s.
Hi Luke,
Did you ecigarette arrive?
i want these E-cigs so i can quit and stop smelling like an ash tray, plus single men these days find it unsexy when a woman smokes, it’s just stupid to think that the government has banned what i thought would be a good product to try, my health would certainly thank me if i took these up instead of my 16 milligram cigs. what if they made it perscription only, not over the counter.
My mother has been a smoker since she was a teenager. In her fifties, she has tried to quit more times than I can remember.
Recently, on a trip to visit me in the USA (where I have lived in the last 3 years), I got her an electronic cigarette, in the hope it might be better for her, and help her quit.
She has been using it for the last 2 weeks, and the results are great. She has started coughing up all kinds of nasties, her lung capacity has increased, and my step-dad (who is a non-smoker) is overjoyed by the fact there is no more cigarette smell.
She is very happy with, and told me that having a real cigarette (which she had when the battery of the e-cig died) tasted disgusting.
Bottom line is – it’s certainly helping her.
I can understand the desire of governments to ban new products until they investigate potential ill-effects – but with cigarettes – how much worse can it be? Just come up with a way to tax the nicotine liquids and cartridges, and get over it!
I now have to find a way to ship her cartridges back to NSW, not sure exactly how…
One thing you may have missed is that the second hand nicotine effect will still be there, just not the smell and smoke to warn you.
the same problems of bar staff with nicotine headaches etc caused by cigarettes will continue with e cigarettes.
the health issues of pure nicotine are significant, and, I was lead to believe in 2nd year physiology, still include increased cancer risk.
on top of this, is the fact that an e cigarette is easier for kids to smoke as they can simply pick it up and draw, rather than having to make fire.
that said, the reduced tar, particulates and sundry poisons makes this marginally healthier than cigarettes and cigars.
as long as you don’t smoke near other people and induce second hand nicotine effects on unaware passers by, this should be a better way for people who are already happy to die of nicotine addiction to die with a small improvement in quality of life.
I have bought some for my nicotine addicted friends and family to try, but i wouldn’t recommend them unless you really can’t stop smoking.
on that note, these may help you stop smoking, but they are really a cigarette replacement, and as such appear to be excellent at their job.