The Senate has been told not to pass a private members’ bill which would legalise the sale of e-cigarettes in Australia.
The architect of the bill is Senator David Leyonhjelm, who claims Australia’s current policy deprives smokers from accessing a means of quitting and is “costing lives”.
His Vaporised Nicotine Products Bill 2017 seeks to legalise the sale of e-cigarettes containing under 2% nicotine under Commonwealth law, exempt e-liquid containing 20 mg/mL nicotine from TGA regulation and allow advertising of e-cigarettes.
But on September 13, a committee of senators tasked with examining the Bill recommended the Senate should not pass it “until further scientific evaluation of the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes and related products has been undertaken”.
Two Labor senators on the committee accused Senator Leyonhjelm of attempting to subvert recommendations by the TGA and NHMRC against changing regulations for e-cigarettes.