New research exposes major problem with the Albanese government’s ban on vapes: ‘We’re the only country in the world with an issue this bad’

Alarming new research shows only three percent of Australian vapers are buying their products legally, with the black market flourishing despite the Albanian government’s ban on importing disposable vapes.

The research, released on Monday by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, also found that Australian men who vape are 33 per cent more likely to use illicit drugs later on.

National MP Barnaby Joyce said Australians were interacting with criminals when buying vapes and claimed the mafia now controls the illegal vape trade.

“When they go out and buy vapes with all the colors in them, they’re also going to meet the person who sells them ice, who sells them heroin, who sells them dope, who sells them meth — all these other things that you never want to have to meet this person,” he said .

Parliament is expected to vote on laws to crack down on vaping later this month, but the third tranche of the government’s anti-vaping legislation has been opposed by the Nationals, who want to tax vaping products sold without a prescription rather than to ban.

National MP Barnaby Joyce said Australians were interacting with criminals when buying vapes and claimed the mafia now controls the illegal vape trade

Alarming new research shows only three percent of Australian vapers are buying their products legally

Industry models have predicted that vapes, if legalized and subject to excise duties, could earn states like Victoria and NSW an additional $600 million in GST over four years.

Mr Joyce said regulating vaping products in a similar way to cigarettes and alcohol would limit black market revenues.

However, he said he would not support similar regulation of other illegal substances, such as cannabis.

‘People make money from it [vapes] – predominantly the mafia – and if you want to solve that, you have to bring it into a regulated form,” he said.

“The problem we have with vapes is… I don’t vape, they’re not good for you, and they will kill you, but so do cigarettes, and they’re legal.”

The third tranche of Labour’s anti-vaping rules would ban the domestic production, advertising, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic vapes.

Previous legislation, which came into effect in January, banned the import of vapes and increased enforcement activities.

However, disposable vapes continued to be sold illegally in many convenience stores across the country, with the black market clearly visible despite the strict new rules.

Legalize Vaping Australia campaign director Brian Marlow said the Albanian government’s vaping regulations have failed.

He wants vape products to be legalized to stop the rampant black market.

“You only have to look at New Zealand, which has reduced youth vaping by 19 percent since strictly regulating vaping as an adult product sold in the same tightly controlled manner as alcohol and tobacco,” Mr. Marlow.

‘It’s a similar story in America. According to the US Center for Disease Control, youth vaping has been on a steady decline, down 64 percent since 2019. Over the same period, youth vaping in Australia has increased by 439 percent.

“More than 90 percent of vapes sold in Australia are on the black market,” Mr Marlow claimed.

“With over a million vapers in Australia, you’re dealing with a multi-billion dollar industry that the federal government has no real intention of legalizing.

“We are the only country in the world with such a serious problem.”

In a Senate investigation, criminologist Dr. James Martin from Deakin University the government’s strict stance against vaping.

He said Labour’s vaping ban has resulted in the country’s second largest illicit drug market and a huge new front in the war on drugs.

“The consequences of this ban have been disastrous: nine in 10 vapers have already rejected the prescription model and instead bought their products on the black market,” he said.