Senate vote banning import of nicotine vaping products will cost lives

Legalise Vaping Australia (LVA), Australia’s largest grassroots advocacy body campaigning for the legalisation of nicotine vaping in Australia has today slammed Federal Senators who voted in favour of measures to ban the importation of nicotine vaping liquids.

The motion, which was supported by the Government, seeks to “ban the importation of e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine”, which will force vapers back onto lethal cigarettes. This is something LVA, together with 3 million smokers, 300,000 vapers and thousands of small businesses vehemently opposes.

“More than 70% of vapers in Australia use nicotine in their vapes. The idea that we should cut these people off from accessing products that we know are less harmful than cigarettes is absurd. If the government goes through with what the Senate motion proposes, they will be forcing tens of thousands of vapers to go back to smoking a product that kills 2 in three long term users. Anybody who thinks this is a win for public health needs their heads read” said Brian Marlow, Campaign Director for Legalise Vaping Australia.

”This motion only serves the interests of Big Tobacco and the Government who reaps $17 billion a year in tobacco taxes. It doesn’t serve the interests of Australian smokers wishing to quit smoking or their families who have to watch their loved ones die from a painful, traumatic and an entirely avoidable death.”

“When we know that smoking currently kills 58 Australians every day, it makes no sense for the Australian Senate to run this protection racket for Big Tobacco,”

“Nations like New Zelaand and the UK are racing to promote vaping to as many smokers as possible because they accept the interational science, yet Australia continues to stick its head in the sand.

“We’ll be doing what we can in response to these moves to ban nicotine imports and destroy the local vaping industry”, Mr Marlow said today.