--- If E-cigarette users in Australia are celebrating too much today, forgive them.
● Australia’s smoking ban story
A ban on the import of nicotine, which was due to take effect on 1 July, was abruptly withdrawn by the Australian Department of Health in Greg Hunt and postponed until 1 January 2021.
The ban, announced on June 20, will extend the ban on importing e-cigarettes containing nicotine for another year, effective July 1. Imports of nicotine-containing e-cigarette liquids will be banned from July 1 and anyone violating the ban will be fined $220,000, according to the ban. But e-cigarette users can still get nicotine e-liquids with a doctor's prescription.
The sad reality, however, is that very few Australian doctors are willing to write nicotine prescriptions under current law, and given the complex and time-consuming requirements of the new plan, even fewer are now willing, according to local media reports.
● Reactions of all parties after the ban was announced
1. Protests by civil organizations: Deprivation of rights
2. New Zealand E-cigarette Organization: It should learn from New Zealand
3.Public policy experts: There are better policies than the ban
4. The local e-cigarette industry has been hit hard
5. Some Australian appliance dealers have sold out of refrigerators which used for saving e-liquid
● Minister of Health explains withdrawal reason -some people use e-cigarettes to quit smoking
In a statement withdrawing the ban, the Health Minister said all states and territories had banned the sale of e-cigarettes containing vaporized nicotine because Australian medical experts believed they were a health hazard, including strong evidence that non-smokers were introduced to nicotine addiction through their first vaping.
He said the ban was a response to medical advice to ensure that nicotine-based e-cigarettes could only be imported on a doctor's prescription. But, he says, others are using them with nicotine to quit smoking.
● The reaction of the parties after the withdraw of the ban:
1.Senator: We have six months to build a system
2.E-cigarette groups and advocates welcome the delay
3. Australia is not alone, and Hong Kong has withdrawn its ban on e-cigarettes
Australia and India are the only major countries to ban nicotine aerosols altogether. Most countries and territories regulate the sale and manufacture of e-cigarettes, and the UK even encourages smokers to use them.
A recent piece of news is also worth considering. On June 11th Hong Kong's legislature dropped plans to ban the use of electronic aerosol products, at least for now. E-cigarettes and harm reduction advocates have been fighting the proposed ban since a speech by Hong Kong's chief executive 19 months ago.
The Legislative Council Bills Committee has finally concluded debate on bills to ban e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Under the Manila Standards, the committee has been studying the bill since March 2019, holding six meetings and three public hearings.
Some lawmakers on the committee strongly opposed the ban, arguing that it was unfair to deny smokers low-risk nicotine products. Discussion of the bill was eventually dropped, but Hong Kong said it would restart plans to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in the city after legislative elections in September.
4. WHO: Electronic cigarettes, properly controlled, can improve public health
Switching to e-cigarettes can reduce health risks for adult smokers, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report on the subject ahead of World No Tobacco Day. At the same time, national regulators should focus on preventing the use of e-cigarettes by young people. It is suggested that regulators should fully consider the interests of all parties and find a regulatory balance point.
The REPORT concludes that the WHO, THE NASEM, and the CDC are aware of e-cigarettes' potential to improve public health.
The key is proper government control of e-cigarettes. The goal is to minimize the negative effects of the tobacco epidemic and to continue to have positive effects on public health. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid the exposure of non-smokers, especially young people, and give full consideration to the interests of smokers to find a balance of regulation.
In particular, the report concludes that, in any context, the government's long-term vision for tobacco control will benefit from strong tobacco control policies that reduce or even completely block e-cigarette users from switching to cigarettes.
