Australia to ban disposable vape imports from January.

A ban on disposable vapes will be implemented in Australia in January, in an effort to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.

There will also be new laws prohibiting the manufacture, advertising, and sale of single-use vapes in the country.

In conjunction with broader efforts to eliminate recreational vaping, the law comes into effect.

Despite being marketed as a smoking cessation method, Australia’s health minister says vaping has created a “new generation of drug dependence”.

It is a battery-operated device which uses cartridges filled with liquid containing nicotine, artificial flavourings, and chemicals. Vapes are widely used by people who want to quit smoking.

Since 2021, Australians must obtain a prescription before purchasing or importing e-cigarettes or nicotine vapes, but despite those restrictions, addiction rates still skyrocket.

According to research by the University of Sydney earlier this year, over a quarter of teenagers aged 14-17 use nicotine vapes, while the Cancer Council charity found that nine out of ten teenagers find it easy to access these devices.

In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Mark Butler, the federal health minister who is leading the effort to ban vaping among our young people, said that all Australian governments share a commitment to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people.

As early as May of this year, the Australian government announced its intention to phase out the use of single-use vapes, but until now it hasn’t provided a concrete timeline for the transition.

In a statement released on the company’s website, Mr Butler announced that an import ban would begin on 1 January for disposable vape pens, and that by March, the import of refillable non-therapeutic vapes would also be prohibited.