In Tasmania, vaping is legal as long as it does not contain nicotine . A survey conducted in Australia found that more than half of smokers on the island would reduce their tobacco use if nicotine-containing vaping devices were legal.
Tasmania is an island off the Australian mainland with a population of 517,000 people, of whom 21% are smokers, according to data compiled by an Australian health survey in 2011. The surveyor was concerned about Tasmania's public health because the survey results showed that the island had the highest rate of smokers of any Australian state, in stark contrast to the country's current rate of 18%.
More data shows why e-cigarettes should be approved
A recent study by the Convenience Stores Association of Australia surveyed 400 Tasmanian smokers and found that a third of respondents had tried e-cigarettes and three-quarters of them knew the devices did not contain nicotine. The most significant finding was that more than half of the smokers surveyed said they would reduce their cigarette consumption or quit smoking altogether if nicotine-containing vaping devices were legalised and widely available.
Unfortunately, Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson said there are no plans to legalise nicotine-containing e-cigarettes at this time, while AACS chief executive Jeff Rogut pointed out, “If e-cigarettes have the potential to help even a small proportion of smokers reduce or quit smoking, then we need to give those products a chance to help Australians.”
Experts hope TGA will back nicotine
A number of Australian health professionals have written to the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) asking that low-dose nicotine be legalised by removing it from the Poisons Standard. The TGA’s advisory panel will meet to consider the matter and announce a final decision on the matter in November 2016. A decision in favour of nicotine would have significant implications for the vaping industry and, more importantly, public health in Australia. As we have seen, many people who have access to effective cessation devices will choose to switch to safer alternatives with the intention of quitting smoking altogether.
This article was published on Vapingpost by Diane Caruana and translated by The Vape Club
