Vaping News

Big Stir Down Under

Ignoring all the advances being made in other 1st world countries, Australia wants to punish the public.

Share on:

From their latest figures, Australia has seen a 10% rise in the number of inmates over the last twelve months. They are currently locking up an average of 194 people for every 100,000 in the adult population – rising to 904 individuals per 100,000 in the Northern Territory. The rate of increase shows no sign of abating and a key fact is that 84% of these inmates smoke.

The situation is being made worse by an increasingly ridiculous approach to, well, everything. Doctors have protested about being banned from speaking of any asylum seeker abuse and Doctor Attila Danko told the Global Forum for Nicotine conference: “Did you know, that in Australia, the possession of liquid nicotine/eliquid with nicotine in it for use in e-cigarettes, is punishable with the same penalties that apply to the possession of heroin?”

Last month, 84% of prisoners were banned from smoking. Violence erupted in many facilities and Ravenhall maximum-security prison, Melbourne, exploded in a full-scale riot. Even the usually close-minded Simon Chapman spoke out against the wholesale ban: “There’s no evidence that it’s harmful to anyone but the smoker in wide open spaces, so my view is smoking ought to be allowed in open areas.” Previous smoking bans in prisons have been linked with population unrest.

Ecigs have been embraced by Dave Matthews, governor of Guernsey prison.  His establishment has welcomed the sale of e-Burn cigalikes as they’ve been designed with a prison population in mind. The trial period was successful as prisoners paid for their own ecigs, earning a profit, while the prison saved money that would have been spent on NRT products and quit programs. The prisoners are happy, the guards are happy and the administration is better off.

Not so in Australia.

It is estimated that the cost of providing NRT products to prisoners will cost the Australian taxpayer over $2million a year, at $30 per pack of patches. Worse, it isn’t a solution; the patches are not being used as intended.

“They soak the patches in tea leaves and when they are dry they make cigarettes with whatever paper is around, even pages of the Bible, and smoke them. That’s what they have been doing for ages. They will get around anything,” said a former jail governor.

Dave Cross avatar

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV
View Articles

Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.

Join the discussion

Product

Parliament Fears Two

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs faced questions from a Conservative MP and, oddly, a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Vaping News

Harm Reduction For The Rich

The United Kingdom risks becoming a harm reduction country only for the wealthy, according to Michael Landl of the World Vapers’ Alliance

Vaping News

Sacrificing Health For 2p Cut

Tory Government alienates vaping voters with its mission to cut tax by an unaffordable 2p to attract voters by placing a tax on vape products in the forthcoming budget

Vaping News

Scotland Announces Single-Use Vape Action

A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland is due to come into effect on 1 April 2025, under proposed legislation published today