Recreational vaping to be banned in e-cigarette crackdown

"Vaping has become the number one behavioural issue in high schools, and it's becoming widespread in primary school," federal health minister Mark Butler said.

Among the measures Mr Butler announced on Tuesday are bans on single-use vapes, restrictions on flavours and colours, and controls on importation and packaging.

"This change will have significant positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of our community members, especially our young people," said Ballarat Community Health chief executive Sean Duffy.

"Many retailers selling vape paraphernalia market directly to young people, using colours and flavours attractive to younger cohorts."

Mr Duffy said schools and parents regularly contacted BCH to help educate their students about the harms of vaping, and the organisation was working to create new and innovative ways to share information with students and help them make informed decisions about vape use.

On Wednesday BCH will unveil a new video series co-designed and co-created with Mount Clear College students to discourage young people from vaping.

"Our health promotion work is critical to education and information sharing with community, including in local schools," Mr Duffy said.

Mr Butler announced a $234 million package in this month's federal budget for tougher regulation of e-cigarettes, restrictions on importation and packaging and a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to discourage vaping and smoking.

The government will work with the states and territories to shut down the sale of vapes in retail and convenience stores and make it easier to get a prescription for therapeutic use. Flavours and colours, used to appeal to young people, will be restricted and product standards increased.

The new rules also ban single-use vapes, vapes will require pharmaceutical-like packaging, and there will be a reduction in the allowed nicotine concentrations and volumes.

Mr Duffy said the changes would also make it easier for people who smoke to get a prescription for nicotine vaping products to help them stop smoking. "Doctors play a vital role in prescribing therapies that have been tested for safety and efficacy. They can also monitor patients during their quit journey," he said.

"Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit," Mr Butler said.

"It was not sold as a recreational product, especially not one for our kids. But that is what it has become."

Research has shown many vapers go on to become cigarette smokers, undoing decades of work to reduce smoking levels in the community.

Health authorities welcomed the crackdown.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Nicole Higgins said much more needed to be done to limit the number of young people, including children and teens, from taking up nicotine vaping.

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"The last thing we want is a new generation of nicotine users, and since the brains of younger people are still developing I'm worried that it will be even harder for them to quit nicotine compared to adults," she said.

"Nicotine vaping products are being sold featuring colourful flavours and we have even seen products featuring the same type of imagery as children's breakfast cereal including cartoon characters. So, clearly companies are targeting children and these cynical tactics must be stopped immediately."

VicHealth chief executive Dr Sandro Demaio welcomed the new measures.

"With these groundbreaking reforms, the Australian Government has demonstrated its commitment to prioritising the health and wellbeing of its citizens above the profits of the tobacco and e-cigarette industry.

"E-cigarettes can contain up to 200 toxic chemicals, including those present in paint stripper and weed killer. These substances can cause cancer and impair brain function. They don't belong in our lungs."

- with AAP

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