Comment

Professor Colin Hall

New statistics released by the Department of Health and Ageing last week paint a disturbing picture of increased smoking by young people.

The report found that smoking among children between 14 and 17 years of age has increased dramatically, with these finding now being used to justify harsh crackdowns on vaping across the country.

This is a mistake.

The increase in youth smoking rates in Australia stands in stark contrast to other western countries where youth smoking is declining at an accelerated rate. Why does Australia differ? The answer lies in our regulatory approach to vaping.

Australia’s draconian policies have normalised a black market selling unregulated disposable vaping products and illicit cigarettes freely, away from government oversight and without age verification. Scare campaigns and misinformation about vaping encourage young people to take up smoking if vaping is seen as harmful.

Cheap cigarettes are also freely available for children on the black market as a result of Australia’s high tobacco taxes. The price of legal tobacco in Australia is the highest in the world and is still increasing. Black market sales are thriving.

Without requirements to adhere to basic consumer laws around the sales of adult products, nicotine products are more widely available to children than we’ve seen in decades.

Last week, Professor Wayne Hall and I published an assessment of youth vaping, which examined research in other western countries, including New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US. Every one of these countries has legalised and regulated vaping as an adult-only consumer product. Studies suggest vaping is actually displacing smoking among young people in all of these countries.

Vaping does not cause young people who have never smoked to take up smoking if they would not have otherwise done so. Young people who experiment with vaping are simply more likely to experiment with other risky behaviours, such as smoking, alcohol and drug use anyway. The often-cited ‘gateway theory’ is unlikely to be playing a significant role overall.

Australia is an outlier among western countries when it comes to vaping and is quickly becoming an outlier when it comes to youth smoking as well. The black market has undone years of tobacco control policies, and Australia’s current approach – heavy restrictions targeted exclusively at the legal vaping market, will only fuel the fire.

We need to recognise that overly restrictive policies intended to reduce youth access to vaping can have counterproductive results. Vaping nicotine is the most effective quitting aid available. The Health Department report found that adult smoking rates had not declined at all in Australia over the last 5 years. Doubling down further on this failed regulatory approach to vaping will simply make things worse.

Now, the government’s stubborn policy stance is putting the lives of Australian children at risk. This needs to change.

The Australian government has an urgent need to implement evidence-based policies on vaping which have proven successful in other western countries. This means an adult consumer regulatory model, which allows access to lifesaving vape products by adult smokers, with strict age verification to ensure young people cannot freely access these products.

Kids also need honest education about vaping and smoking without fear and exaggeration.

If the government doesn’t urgently change its approach, more young people will be unnecessarily exposed to vaping and smoking, and Australia will face a national health crisis in years to come.

Professor Colin Hall is from the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, and has no conflicts of interest.