Australia to ban disposable vape imports as questions build over UK rules

Published: 28 Nov 2023

Australia has announced that it will ban imports of single-use disposable vapes from January.

Import restrictions will then be placed on all non-therapeutic vapes from March, Australian health secretary Mark Butler announced on Tuesday.

Referring to sweet-flavoured vapes and colourful branding, he added: “This is not a therapeutic good to help hardened smokers kick the habit. 

“This is a good that is deliberately targeted at kids to recruit them to nicotine addiction.”

This marks the first step by the country to clamp down on vaping, with concerns having been raised both about its appeal to children and the environmental damage caused as single-use products are thrown away.

Given similar concerns in the UK, tobacco giant British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) and vapes distributor Supreme PLC (AIM:SUP) have both this week said they would back tougher regulation on vaping.

These calls come as the industry awaits the results of a public consultation on e-cigarette regulation, due next week.

“We want confectionery, dessert and soft drink flavours to be banned and the introduction of a new regime for how and where vapes are sold,” BAT said in a press release on Monday.

Supreme, meanwhile, said it would support changes to legislation, including around branding which could appeal to children, but also to enact tougher rules on vape retailers.

“As an industry leader, Supreme acknowledges the wider concerns of youth vaping and remains fully supportive of any proactive measures [...] that potentially restricts specific products, packaging, flavours or point of sale in the UK,” the firm said on Tuesday.

According to the government, over 20% of 11 to 17 year-olds in the UK have at least tried a vape this year.

Given concern that this figure will only rise, both BAT and Supreme have acknowledged this week that tougher rules should be in place, but said such products should be treated as complementary to a long-term smoking ban.

Both indeed gain hefty incomes from selling such products, with Supreme reporting a 32% rise in revenue from its vape division to £42.1 million for the full-year on Tuesday, including through the distribution of widely stocked disposable brands ElfBar and Lost Mary.

“We are confident that the government will seek to strike a sensible balance between addressing the recent environmental and underage vaping concerns whilst also not slowing down their efforts to become a smoke-free country by 2030,” Supreme added.