Letter To Ryan Park MP (NSW Minister for Health)

Mr. Park,
I am a 54 year old business professional who has had just about enough of government’s stupidity and obvious lack of common sense with respect to the issue of electronic cigarettes. I have vaped exclusively for over six and a half years, successfully using pharmaceutical grade liquid nicotine imported from New Zealand in combination with Australian made e-liquids to permanently end a 36 year long tobacco smoking habit overnight.
Let me tell you that the ONLY way you will stop disposable vapes from falling into the hands of children is to ask them directly whereabouts they’re buying the devices from, track down those nefarious merchants and put them behind bars for 12 months, ban all sales of ‘disposable vape devices’ then legalise the sale of pharmaceutical grade liquid nicotine, properly made electronic cigarettes and ANZFS Standard e-liquids from NOWHERE ELSE EXCEPT age-restricted regulated ‘vape shops’. While you’re at it, meet with Brian Marlow (Campaign Director for Legalise Vaping Australia) and Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, both of whom will describe to you in plain English how the Government’s approach to this issue has for far too long been an abject FAILURE. You’re best to also attend a few dedicated vape stores in person, listen to the proprieter’s concerns and understand that We the e-cig using community (ie. 800,000+ Australian voting age adults just like you) do NOT want children to have access to products that are intended for adults-only use.

Tobacco companies have NOT created the ‘black market’. That responsibility falls directly on the incompetent Morrison Federal Government, yet now we see utter foolishness from Health Minister Mark Butler as he ‘doubles-down’ on Greg Hunt’s ridiculously Draconian policies and helps maintain that which could so easily be shut down. As a matter of urgency you need to consult with adult vapers and follow those discussions up by introducing commonsense legislation that legalises sales of pharmaceutical grade liquid nicotine to adults only, just as it is legal in the USA, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom.
STOP PERSECUTING LAW ABIDING ADULTS who are using properly made electronic cigarette devices that they have legally purchased from age-restricted and heavily regulated vape shops whilst State and Federal Governments
(a) ALLOW pharmaceutical companies to openly sell in supermarkets products which contain ingredients IDENTICAL to those found in disposable vapes,
(b) PLACE weak penalties on illegally operating vendors which do NOTHING to deter others from operating with impunity and the same blatant disregard for the Law, and
(c) FAIL to write socially acceptable legislation that would make legal both in NSW and Australia wide a scientifically proven as safe method of smoking cessation which is freely available to adults across much of a world that includes at least three other Commonwealth nations.