Australia: Bold plan to combat tobacco and nicotine products

Among the measures in the 2023-2030 strategy announced by the Australian government are restrictions on the flavours and nicotine content of e-liquids, a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, a restriction on imports to medically prescribed products, and regular increases in the price of tobacco. Eleven years after introducing plain packaging, Australia is once again at the forefront of the fight against smoking.

After months of intense debate between e-cigarette proponents and public health advocates, the Australian government published its National Tobacco Strategy 2023-2030 on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.[1]The plan includes a number of measures aimed at further reducing smoking and halting the spread of electronic cigarettes in the country.[2].

Although smoking prevalence has fallen to just 15.1% in Australia (13.8% daily smokers), tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death. Authorities are also concerned about the vaping progression among young people and a gateway effect to tobacco products. As in New Zealand, the use of e-cigarettes has become one of the leading causes of disciplinary problems in secondary education, and is even making its way into primary education. Following the import ban and the limitation of sales of e-cigarettes since October 2021, the development of a black market for these products has also undermined the authorities' efforts to regulate the legal market.

Restrictions on e-liquids and electronic cigarettes

Vaping products are the subject of numerous measures in this national strategy:

• Imports of electronic cigarettes will only be permitted for models requiring a medical prescription.
• Disposable or single-use e-cigarettes will be banned.
• E-liquids for electronic cigarettes will have restrictions on flavors, additives and colors.
• The nicotine content of e-liquids and the volumes allowed will be reduced.
• Packaging for electronic cigarettes will have to meet the requirements of pharmaceutical products.
• The retail sale of e-cigarettes, particularly in food stores, will be eliminated, while making it easier to obtain a medical prescription for therapeutic use.

"As with tobacco, the tobacco giants have developed new addictive products, wrapped them in shiny packaging and added flavors to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.", said Health and Wellbeing Minister Mark Butler, who appears determined to break the recreational vaping market, particularly aimed at young people.[3].

Planned increases in taxes on tobacco products

While the focus is clearly on vaping products, tobacco products are not forgotten. Regular increases of 5 % per year in tobacco taxes are thus scheduled for the next three years, making a pack of cigarettes increasingly unaffordable. In Australia, the price of a pack of 25 cigarettes is currently 50 Australian dollars, or 30 euros.[4]. The alignment of taxes on rolling tobacco with those on manufactured cigarettes is also announced, in order to avoid a shift in consumption. Many other measures are being considered, both for tobacco and nicotine products. The launch of new products by manufacturers is being taken into account.

To support this national strategy, a communication campaign (63 million Australian dollars, or 38 million euros) is also planned to encourage the public to turn away from tobacco and vaping and to quit smoking, as well as a strengthening of smoking cessation assistance programs (30 million Australian dollars, or 18 million euros). Welcomed by public health stakeholders[5], these means and the political will deployed in the national tobacco strategy make Australia an example for all countries in the fight against smoking.

Keywords: Australia, 2023-2030 strategy, electronic cigarettes, rolling tobacco.

M.F.

[1] Taking action on smoking and vaping, Department of Health and Aged Care, press release, published 2 May 2023, accessed 3 May 2023.

[2] National Tobacco Strategy 2023–2030, Department of Health and Aged Care, press release, published 2 May 2023, accessed 3 May 2023.

[3] Australia targets Big Tobacco in crackdown on vaping, France 24, published May 2, 2023, consulted May 3, 2023.

[4] Australia takes string of tough measures to curb vaping, Le Monde, published May 2, 2023, consulted May 3, 2023.

[5] Cancer Council welcomes release of National Tobacco Strategy, restoring Australia's commitment to reduce smoking rates, Cancer Council, press release, published May 2, 2023, accessed May 3, 2023.