Victoria 'failing the whole nation' in enforcement of anti-vaping measures

Quit Victoria aims new campaign at vapers while warning laws fall short

Quit Victoria 针对电子烟用户发起新宣传，同时警告现行法律存在漏洞。

In short: Quit has launched a new campaign warning young people of the health dangers posed by vaping. Anti-vaping advocates say tobacco inspectors in Victoria do not have enough powers to stop illegal vape products. Up to 80 per cent of nicotine products consumed in Australia last year, including vapes, were estimated to be illegal. Anti-vaping advocates and public health experts argue Victoria's laws and enforcement are inadequate to crack down on a flood of imported illegal products being sold to fuel potentially dangerous addictions. The Victorian government this week introduced new laws into parliament which would give police the power to close shops for 90 days if they're found to be selling illegal tobacco. But the new laws do not cover illegal vaping products. Quit Victoria is a partnership between VicHealth, Cancer Council Victoria and the Victorian government. The organisation's director, Rachael Andersen, told the ABC that Quit believes the illegal tobacco laws should encompass illegal vapes. Vaping products can only legally be sold in pharmacies in Victoria, with pharmacists required to direct those customers to cessation support services. There is a large black market, however. Australian Border Force has seized an estimated 19.4 million illegal vaping products, worth just over $1 billion, since federal vaping laws were reformed in January 2024. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) also removed 2.2 million unlawful vaping products from the community, worth $110.5 million, during that time. Ms Andersen said illicit vaping products were generally sold alongside illicit tobacco, and widely available in the community. "There's a lot of red tape around the capacity of the Victorian tobacco licensing workforce to be able to effectively enforce what happens when illegal vaping products are found on a premises," she said. "We would really encourage governments to look a bit broader whilst that legislation is changing to consider how it can be further strengthened to be able to capture action on vaping."

简讯：Quit 发起新宣传，警示年轻人电子烟的健康危害。反烟倡导者指出，维州烟草检查员缺乏制止非法电子烟产品的权力。据估计，去年澳大利亚消费的尼古丁产品（含电子烟）中高达 80% 为非法。反烟倡导者与公共卫生专家辩称，维州的法律与执法力度不足以遏制大量进口非法产品涌入市场，从而助长潜在的危险成瘾。维州政府本周向议会提交新法案，拟授权警方关闭非法销售烟草店铺 90 天。然而，新法并未涵盖非法电子烟产品。Quit Victoria 由维州健康委员会、维州癌症委员会与维州政府联合成立。该机构主任 Rachael Andersen 向 ABC 表示，Quit 认为非法烟草法律应涵盖非法电子烟。在维州，电子烟仅可在药房合法销售，且药剂师须引导顾客接受戒烟支持服务。然而，黑市规模庞大。自 2024 年 1 月联邦电子烟法律改革以来，澳大利亚边境部队查获了约 1940 万件非法电子烟，价值逾 10 亿澳元。同期，治疗用品管理局（TGA）也从社区清除了 220 万件非法电子烟，价值 1.105 亿澳元。Andersen 女士称，非法电子烟通常与非法烟草一同销售，在社区内随处可见。她称：「维州烟草许可工作人员在发现 premises（场所）内有非法电子烟时，其执法能力受到诸多 red tape（繁文缛节/官僚程序）的制约。我们强烈建议政府在立法变更期间拓宽视野，考虑如何进一步强化法律，以涵盖对电子烟的管控行动。」

Victoria 'failing the whole nation' An estimated 80 per cent of the cigarettes and nicotine products consumed last year, including vapes, were illegal, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. University of Melbourne professor of public health Michelle Jongenelis said Victoria's laws fell short when it came to vapes. "The officers are saying we can't do anything about vapes and it's really disappointing because we told them when the legislation was being drafted: you absolutely have to include these new products," Professor Jongenelis said. "Just telling people that a product is harmful doesn't work," she said. "It needs to be combined with policy and regulation and unfortunately in Victoria we are really failing the whole nation when it comes to our approach to how we're dealing with these products." In Victoria there were only 14 officers who could visit the stores, compared to Queensland's more than 200 officers, Professor Jongenelis said. "It's really disappointing that we have the second-most populous state in Australia that has allocated only 14 officers to enforce the law." The Victorian government last month announced it planned to increase the number of inspectors to 42 this financial year. A government spokesperson did not directly address questions about whether any further changes to Tobacco Licensing Victoria were being considered. "We are cracking down on illicit tobacco and the organised crime gangs it funds — and we're going further by introducing tough new powers so Tobacco Licensing Victoria can close down businesses caught selling illicit tobacco," a spokesperson said.

维州被指「拖累全国」据澳大利亚统计局数据，去年消费的香烟及尼古丁产品（含电子烟）中约 80% 为非法。墨尔本大学公共卫生教授 Michelle Jongenelis 指出，维州法律在电子烟监管方面存在不足。Jongenelis 教授称：「检查员表示他们对电子烟无能为力，这令人非常失望，因为在起草立法时我们就告诉他们：必须将这些新产品纳入监管范围。」「仅告知公众产品有害并无实效，」她称，「必须结合政策与法规，遗憾的是，在处理这些产品的方式上，维州真的在 failing（辜负/拖累）全国。」Jongenelis 教授指出，维州仅有 14 名检查员可走访店铺，而昆士兰州则有 200 多名。她称：「作为澳大利亚人口第二多的州，却仅分配 14 名检查员执法，这令人深感失望。」维州政府上月宣布，计划在本财政年度将检查员人数增至 42 人。一名政府发言人未直接回应是否考虑对 Tobacco Licensing Victoria（维州烟草许可体系）进行进一步改革的问题。发言人称：「我们正在严厉打击非法烟草及其资助的有组织犯罪集团——并通过引入强硬的新权力，使维州烟草许可机构能够关闭查获销售非法烟草的商家，我们将采取更进一步的行动。」