Australian Greens lawmakers have proposed legalizing nicotine e-cigarettes

Thursday March 2, 2023

（The Australian Greens are a left-wing environmentalist political party in Australia）

 

Some Australian lawmakers have long fought to overturn the current ban on e-cigarettes. Vape devices are currently legal in Australia, but the use of nicotine-containing devices is illegal. In August 2016, several public health activists submitted proposals to the local regulator, the Australian Drugs Administration (TGA), to remove "nicotine concentrations below 3.6%" from its toxics criteria. However, in February 2017, the Australian Drug Administration (TGA) rejected the application and upheld the nicotine ban.

 

A proposal by Cate Faehrmann, an Australian Green Party MP and spokesperson for the health department, which aims to legalize adult nicotine e-cigarettes to reduce the existence of an illegal market and provide for a series of measures to reduce the harmful health and environmental effects of e-cigarettes.

 

The proposal aims to regulate the nicotine content in e-cigarettes. This is because nicotine is the main ingredient that causes e-cigarette addiction. Monitoring and reducing nicotine levels in e-cigarettes can reduce people's reliance on e-cigarettes and help protect public health.

 

Secondly, the Greens propose to label health warnings on e-cigarette products, similar to warnings on cigarettes. This helps alert consumers to the risks of e-cigarettes and prompts them to make more informed choices.

 

The Greens have proposed setting up recycling systems to minimize waste pollution from illegal e-cigarettes. Components such as e-cigarette devices and batteries cannot be discarded arbitrarily, as they may cause serious pollution to the environment. Therefore, it is very important to have a recycling system in place to ensure that these devices are disposed of safely.

 

Finally, the Greens are holding producers accountable for the end-of-life of these products and retailers are asking retailers to operate "cigarette waste" recycling systems. This means that manufacturers and retailers need to share responsibility for e-cigarette waste to ensure that these devices and components are safely disposed of and recycled.

 

The Greens' proposal aims to bring more regulation and transparency to the e-cigarette industry and reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of e-cigarettes.