Aus - 'Not on my watch': Health Minister rules out legalising e-cigarettes

[poledriver]

'Not on my watch': Health Minister rules out legalising e-cigarettes

Health Minister Greg Hunt says he will never lift the ban on e-cigarettes despite an ongoing Senate inquiry into their use.

Minister Hunt told Hack: "It's not going to be happening on my watch as far as I'm concerned."

E-cigarettes are battery operated devices that heat a cartridge of liquid nicotine into a mist to be vaporised. It is widely agreed they are likely to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes and are often used as an aid to quit smoking.

Last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) received an application to re-schedule nicotine, so it could be purchased in liquid form legally.

After months of consultation, the TGA decided in March against any changes.

As a consequence, the commercial supply of nicotine for use in e-cigarettes remained prohibited in Australia under state and territory legislation.

Minister Hunt said he met with the head of the TGA today and accepted the TGA's point there's no strong evidence e-cigarettes are a pathway to quitting cigarettes.

"There is clear evidence that it's likely to lead to an update of cigarette smoking," he said.

Asked why he had made this decision before the Senate inquiry reported its findings, Minister Hunt said the parliamentary process was a good way of "dealing with and exposing" the health claims associated with e-cigarettes.

"It's big tobacco which is arguing the case for these e-cigarettes and they're only doing it because it's in their interests," he said.

"I have a very strong, clear, categorical view that this is not something that should occur in Australia."

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/progr...ely-rules-out-legalising-e-cigarettes/9055736

 

[S.J.B.]

That's really unfortunate. So, do you guys not have a lot of people using e-cigarettes in large cities? Here it has become very popular, with "vape shops" all over the place (it is completely unregulated).

 

[poledriver]

Yeah we do have lots of people using e cigs, I've got two. You can buy them online from many places, possibly from normal shops too (not sure as I havent done that) and you can buy all the flavours etc easily. The part we can't buy or be sold here is the liquid nicotine. I was told you were allowed to import the liquid nicotine for personal use but I am not sure if that is true or legal. I've never really bothered to find out as I am not addicted to nicotine so I don't need or wont it.

I just use flavours in mine, like kiwi fruit or peach or watermellon or whatever. Some of my friends who used e cigs to stop smoking buy juice that is tobacco flavoured but it doesn't contain any nicotine. That is the part that is illegal in Aus afaik.

A friend went to the UK and said they have shops everywhere there that sell e cigs and nicotine juice.

I really don't understand why our government are so strict and bring in so many laws and regulations and restrictions. Take our medicinal cannabis for example, it's an absolute joke, even people with a terminal illness are finding it hard to legally obtain, and even if they do most of it doesn't contain much or any THC and will be in the form of an oil or nasal spray or something. Afaik near no one is able to access full plant cannabis. So many people are really upset because it means large amounts of people with sick kids or relatives or whatever have to use the black market still to obtain weed and then make it into oil themselves (or buy oil from trusted sources) etc. But those same really sick people can easily obtain any type of pharma meds they need.

 

[S.J.B.]

Here all the shops have nicotine solutions available.

 

[JessFR]

You know what I find sooo, incredibly coincidental.

That something that looks like smoking, that people think of as the same as smoking, but from a fundamental physical perspective is completely different in every way except for introducing nicotine into your system, a substance that is confirmed non-carcinogenic, would just by complete and total coincidence turn out to happen to have all the same health hazards as the activity it is otherwise only similar to in entirely superficial ways.

It's ALMOST like nature is trying to tell us that the behavior itself is bad no matter what way you try and do it. Like nature had a political view on the matter just like a person would. You know, assuming that ecigs really do give you cancer and similar bad shit and it's not a pile of horseshit.

Well, that's all cool to me. I prefer regular old school smoking anyway so if both are gonna kill me I guess I'll just stick with my burning plant matter.

 

[Crankinit]

The e-cigs themselves are already legal, or at least the're openly sold in shops all over the place. The currently illegal part is any nicotine solution for vaporising, and even then it's a bit of a grey area, since they don't bother intercepting personal use quantities at customs, so people just order it online. Even taking international shipping into account it's still a fraction of what it costs to smoke actual cigarettes here, so e-cigs are definitely taking off. I've seen a boom from 1 store to at least 5 or 6 in the city in the last couple years, and Adelaide is always a few years behind the East Coast. At least one shop just kept a screen up on the wall open to a vendor website in NZ, so customers could buy their e-cig then order the nicotine juice in-store.

 

[belligerent drunk]

You know what I find sooo, incredibly coincidental.

That something that looks like smoking, that people think of as the same as smoking, but from a fundamental physical perspective is completely different in every way except for introducing nicotine into your system, a substance that is confirmed non-carcinogenic, would just by complete and total coincidence turn out to happen to have all the same health hazards as the activity it is otherwise only similar to in entirely superficial ways.

It's ALMOST like nature is trying to tell us that the behavior itself is bad no matter what way you try and do it. Like nature had a political view on the matter just like a person would. You know, assuming that ecigs really do give you cancer and similar bad shit and it's not a pile of horseshit.

Well, that's all cool to me. I prefer regular old school smoking anyway so if both are gonna kill me I guess I'll just stick with my burning plant matter.

Since when are e-cigs inherently as toxic/carcinogenic as smoking tobacco? The evidence I read stated that the main potential (not definite) problem was the possible harms of the flavoring agents. Nicotine, compared to the nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatics among other nasty stuff produced in smoked tobacco, is rather benign - not to say it's entirely harmless. But it's definitely not on the same level. As far as drugs go, yeah, nicotine is pretty bad in terms of toxicity, but it doesn't come close to inhaling the equivalent of engine exhaust.

 

[JessFR]

Since when are e-cigs inherently as toxic/carcinogenic as smoking tobacco? The evidence I read stated that the main potential (not definite) problem was the possible harms of the flavoring agents. Nicotine, compared to the nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatics among other nasty stuff produced in smoked tobacco, is rather benign - not to say it's entirely harmless. But it's definitely not on the same level. As far as drugs go, yeah, nicotine is pretty bad in terms of toxicity, but it doesn't come close to inhaling the equivalent of engine exhaust.

Didn?t pick up on my sarcasm?

Yeah I?ve heard lots of people claim ecigs are as bad for you as regular cigarettes. Usually with some comments on how they are an attempt by the tobacco industry to circumvent the law.

Here?s how it comes down man, people are retarded and there are a lot of people who have become so programmed to see smoking as bad that even if we actually found a way to make it harmless for your health, it would take several decades at least for people to stop trying to fight it and find reasons to hate it. Basically however long it would take for the majority of people now programmed that way to die or be confined to nursing homes and be replaced by new, nonprogrammed people.

Most people are idiots. It sucks but it?s true.

And by far the absolute WORST part. Some of this shit I?ve heard from OTHER smokers. Which means that by believing it and by this retarded bullshit being propagated, it?s actually discouraging people to switch to ecigs. Cause they think either will kill them so might as well just stick with whatever you?re used too.