Unblock vapes
Vaping is bad for you. So is smoking. One’s worse for you than the other. But it’s not the banned one.
Anyone can head to the corner shop right now and buy a pack of smokes. Totally legal, no questions – you just have to be over 18. But you can’t do that if you want a vape.
Labor’s ban is forcing vapers back onto smokes. It’s harming people’s health. I know because I’ve seen it with my own partner Tim.
It’s proven that smoking is significantly worse than vaping1. It exposes people to more toxic chemicals and kills over half its long-term users.
This ban is making people sicker. People will die.
It’s time to unblock vapes.
Anywhere you can buy smokes, you should be able to buy a vape. Money from the sale of vapes would go back into the health budget, just like it does now with cigarettes.
New Zealand’s done it. And data shows they have twice as many people quitting smoking as we do in Australia. 2
I’ve had family members use vapes to get off nicotine for good. They knew what they needed to kick the habit – not the government. Anybody should be able to make that choice for themselves.
If we taxed vapes like cigarettes, we would raise billions of dollars and save thousands of lives at the same time.
It’s time for Labor to put people’s health first and reverse the ban on vapes.