New vaping laws will protect children

Transcript: AMA Queensland Vice President, Dr Nick Yim, ABC Sunshine Coast, Monday 15 January 2024

Subjects: New vaping laws

ANNIE GAFFNEY: From January 1, it became illegal to buy nicotine vapes in Australia unless it's on prescription from your GP. A couple of weeks in, doctors are actually starting to see patients who have been vaping and now need support to transition away from those products. Doctor Nick Yim is a Hervey Bay GP and Vice President of the Australian Medical Association in Queensland. Nick, happy new year to you, good to have you with us.

NICK YIM: Good afternoon, Annie. Happy new year.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: We know vaping in the teen demographic has become a real problem, with lots of them taking it up to be cool, to fit in, and then, like cigarettes, becoming addicted to vapes. But what was the main thing that, as a GP, you were expecting to happen for people who've been vaping and now face a real lack of legal supply through vape stores?

NICK YIM: One of the key things is for us to remember, it's not the addiction to vapes per se, it's the addiction to the nicotine. And what we've seen and what I've seen in my area by going to schools is there's just been an explosion of young people, teenagers, children, and young adults using vapes. Previously, these people weren't actually smoking cigarettes, they've just gone straight to vapes, which is really, really concerning. This is a welcome change – banning all illegal importation of vapes.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: I haven't seen any vape stores shutting their doors on the Sunshine Coast where I live, Nick. Given nicotine vapes are now illegal to sell, what kind of products are these stores still selling then?

NICK YIM: Many of these vape products probably will have no nicotine. But as we know from previous studies, I believe the ABC was involved in one of those studies, many vape products that are labelled as nicotine-free actually do contain quite high levels of nicotine, and that is the component that people are getting addicted to.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: So in reality, if someone was to go in and buy a flavoured vape product that supposedly is nicotine free, it could have nicotine in it. How is that whole product, that market, being policed then, given it's illegal to sell nicotine vapes?  

NICK YIM: That's the greatest challenge, and I think this is one of the key reasons for the crackdown from the federal government, that we actually do not know what's being sold from those retail outlets. We've got vapes that are saying it’s nicotine free that contains nicotine. At the same time, many of these vape products have multiple flavours; bubblegum, strawberry, raspberry, and are tailor-made and designed for children, teenagers and young adults, as opposed to the regulations that we have for cigarette smoking.  

ANNIE GAFFNEY: Nicotine vapers have been told that they do have the option of being prescribed nicotine vapes by their GP, and a chemist would dispense that to be sold in plain packaging with a prescription label. So how many patients have you seen that are asking for prescribed nicotine vapes?

NICK YIM: Over the new year we often do see an increase of people wanting to quit cigarette smoking. Personally, I haven't seen anyone requesting nicotine liquid, but we have seen people asking to cease smoking, which is great. There are really good materials out there such as nicotine replacement therapy, so, patches, gum, and inhalers that are already available and are the current gold standard.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: How likely are you as a GP to prescribe someone nicotine vapes if they're addicted to them?

NICK YIM: The key message is that through the college guidelines, we already know that vaping and nicotine are not the gold standard to cease vaping. There are gold standards out there, and the recommendations currently for first level is seeking advice from a healthcare team, and that is your GP. There are patches, inhalers, nicotine gum, and lozenges that have good evidence at quitting smoking and quitting nicotine addiction.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: Last year, I was hearing that there were hardly any GPs who were prepared to prescribe nicotine vapes for the very reasons that you're talking about. What are you hearing from your fellow GPs? What do they say about it?

NICK YIM: There is definitely an increase in people taking up the trend to prescribe nicotine. The key thing here is nicotine through vape is not the gold standard. It's not the number one strategy. We do have other methods available, such as accessing Quitline, but those are key things that can be discussed with your GP.

ANNIE GAFFNEY: Good to hear from you Nick, thank you.

NICK YIM: Always a pleasure. Happy new year.