Vapes are not a smoking quit aid
A new survey showing 61 per cent of vapers aged between 14 and 25 want to quit but are struggling is further evidence that liquid nicotine is an addiction starter, not a quit smoking aid. "The big tobacco companies are directly targeting these to our younger adults, even children and adolescents. They’re advertising through social media, TikTok, Facebook etc." - AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim on ABC Radio.
Transcript: AMA Queensland President, Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Brisbane, Drive with Kelly Higgins-Devine, Monday 24 June 2024
Subject: New vaping laws
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Australia will become the first country to ban the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, but access won't be restricted to prescription-only. The federal Greens have agreed to pass the legislation with amendments to allow adults to buy vapes through pharmacies without a prescription. The proposed laws are not what doctors had called for. Dr Nick Yim is President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland. Dr Yim, good afternoon and congratulations on your election as the new AMA Queensland President.
DR NICK YIM: Thank you very much.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Under these changes to the proposed laws, adults will not need a prescription to buy vapes. So what is AMA Queensland’s response to that?
DR NICK YIM: It's good to see that these laws will be passed. But we are disappointed that vapes will still be available without a prescription. Vapes are not a quitting tool. They're not the first line, not even the second line or the third line quitting tool. And we are seeing a large number of young people addicted to vapes currently.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Why did you want prescription-only access?
DR NICK YIM: With regards to prescription-only access, it encourages people who do want to quit smoking to have that discussion with maybe a general practitioner to discuss the different strategies that are available, because there's no vaping product that's been approved for use in Australia as a smoking cessation aid.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Dr Nick Yim, President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland, is my guest this afternoon and we're talking about the changes to the sale of vapes. Australia is the first country to ban the sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, but access won't be restricted to prescription-only, which was what doctors had been calling for. So, Nick Yim, the laws, do you think they're going to be effective then in reducing the number of people accessing vapes?
DR NICK YIM: Ultimately, time will tell. But for people who do want to quit vaping, quit smoking, the key thing is having that discussion with their general practitioner. They can recommend different resources and look at strategies besides vaping to quit smoking.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: And people under 18 will be able to access vapes with a prescription if deemed clinically appropriate. Can you think of circumstances in which it might be clinically appropriate?
DR NICK YIM: Off the top of my head, there's not many circumstances that would be appropriate, but we do need that discussion. We know that there are many, many people aged between 14 and 25 who are vaping. And there’s many of them - in a recent survey, 61 per cent - that do express a desire to quit, but they are struggling.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: There are lots of things that adults do that are bad for them - cigarette smoking, drinking too much, all sorts of things that we do - and we don't have to get a prescription for a lot of those things. Was it ever going to be reasonable to ask adults to get a prescription, do you think, for vapes?
DR NICK YIM: I think the issue here is the fact that the big tobacco companies are directly targeting these to our younger adults, even children and adolescents. They’re advertising through social media, TikTok, Facebook etc. So the majority of people are taking them up are young people.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: But young people aren't going to be able to get them from pharmacies, so shouldn't that put, if not a stop, shouldn't that at least put a dampener on their ability to get these vapes?
DR NICK YIM: Time will tell. The legislation hasn’t come in yet, so the future will tell us what's going to happen with these legislation changes.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Yeah. Do you think the rest of the world will be looking at this to see how it goes?
DR NICK YIM: I think Australia, we can lead. We know that from many overseas countries like the US, we are seeing a large number of people having vaping-associated lung injuries. If Australia doesn't go down that route, it'll be great to see Australia lead this process.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Any other difficulties or concerns you have with vapes only being able to be sourced at pharmacies?
DR NICK YIM: It is a public health issue. We know that long-term use of vapes is not good for younger people and their developing lungs This is an opportunity for young people to have that discussion with their general practitioner. They can give them the advice and guidance about cessation of vaping and also cessation of cigarette smoking.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: What about the adults who vape? Is there going to be any help for them?
DR NICK YIM: There's always funding available and this is the same process, to reiterate that vaping is not a first line strategy to quit smoking. There are many strategies that are available - patches, nicotine gum, inhalers, and there are some medications that can help with smoking cessation.
KELLY HIGGINS-DEVINE: Dr Nick Yim, thank you.
