Australian government expected to crack down on illegal vaping amid rising uptake by teens

The Australian government is expected to announce a crackdown on illegal vaping as early as next week, as concerns rise over the increasing uptake among teenagers.

The health minister, Mark Butler, will announce long-mooted changes to vaping regulation, including introducing plain packaging and a ban on certain flavours, ahead of the federal budget on 9 May.

The health minister has long foreshadowed a federal crackdown on vapes, especially those containing nicotine.

Vaping products popular among young adults often come in fruit or candy flavours, with brightly coloured packaging. Butler flagged the government is interested in pursuing a plain packaging model.

Last month a review by the Therapeutic Goods Administration called for the government to ban vape flavours, adopt plain packaging and include warnings of the health dangers.

It received about 4,000 submissions from medical bodies, with overwhelming support to beef up regulation on the importation of vape, with a requirement of importers to a hold permit.

Vapes that have nicotine in them are legally only meant to be prescribed by a doctor as a cessation tool but there is a thriving black market, with convenience stores selling the products to minors.

A recent study of 1,006 people aged between 15 and 30 from the George Institute for Global Health showed 14% were current vape users and 33% had vaped in the past.