The government should work towards creating a safe and regulated market for vaping in Australia, General Practitioner Dr Joe Kosterich says.
It is currently illegal to sell e-cigarettes which contain nicotine and an attempt by Health Minister Greg Hunt to introduce a ban on imported liquid nicotine for vaping has been delayed for six months after 28 Coalition backbenchers signed a letter condemning the decision.
Mr Kosterich said the original decision would have condemned approximately 300,000 Australians who had quit smoking by vaping, back into smoking”.
He said Australia needed to follow New Zealand and a number of European nations in making vaping an accessible alternative to smoking given it does not contain the dangerous carcinogenic substances found in cigarettes.
Image: AP
