The Australian government’s vaping laws have been reinforced by the South Australian government with $16 million invested in a new taskforce.
This taskforce has been designed to detect and disrupt the supply of unlawful vapes.
More than 3500 vapes have been seized through the efforts of South Australian enforcement officials since 1 July 2024, with more than 200 inspections, 450 tip offs and a series of raids conducted.
The total value of the illicit product seized including vapes and illegal tobacco in South Australia is approximately $680,000.
“Vaping is a health crisis, and we need to do everything we can to stamp it out,” says SA Health Minister Chris Picton.
“I am really concerned about the impact on young people, with new research showing the rate of 15 to 29-year-old South Australians vaping has nearly doubled in a year, from 8.4% in 2022 to 15.1% in 2023.
“Vapes have huge amounts of nicotine and a cocktail of nasty chemicals, leading to awful addiction problems for our young people.
“Parents have told me their kids are sleeping with vapes under their pillows and suffering all kinds of withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, lack of appetite and being unable to concentrate at school.”
Across the country, more than 5.2 million illicit vapes and vaping products have been seized so far this year. Of these, more than two million vapes have been seized since the commencement of the new vaping laws on 1 July 2024.