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Jo Trilling: This time next week, Australia is going to become the first country to ban the sales of vapes outside of pharmacies, so it’s a World first in the fight to regulate e-cigarettes. The Federal Greens have agreed to pass this legislation with amendments, which means adults will not need a prescription to buy them. So, will this stop young people taking up the habit, or will this just mean more vapes on the black market. Dr Michael Page is the president of the AMA here in WA. Hello, Michael.

Dr Page: Good afternoon, Jo.

Jo Trilling: Now what is your response to this? Is it the right move? What do you make of the fact that you won’t need a prescription and you can buy them at pharmacies?

Dr Page: Look, I think this is best described as a watering down of the Bill. It’s a compromise forced upon the Federal Government by the Greens, and it’s quite disappointing. I think we were really looking forward to seeing vapes all but banned in Australia for any purpose other than as a quitting smoking aid, for which there’s actually not enough evidence yet for vapes. In other words, because there are no products currently available, vaping products that are proven to help people quit smoking, this legislation would have been effectively a ban. Now, if the tobacco industry and that’s who’s driving vaping, if the tobacco industry can produce some evidence that vapes can help people quit smoking, then of course they’ll get them registered on the Therapeutic Goods Register in Australia and then they’ll be available in in pharmacies.

Jo Trilling: It kind of takes you out of the picture, doesn’t it, Michael, because you won’t need a prescription. I can tell you, we’ve just received a statement from the national Pharmacy Guild. They are very unhappy about this. They say ‘we are not tobacconists or garbologists’. They strongly oppose this proposal. They are healthcare professionals who dispense medication that provides a proven therapeutic benefit. No vaping product has been approved by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) based on its safety, efficacy or performance. No vaping product is listed on the Australian register of therapeutic goods, and the Senate’s expectation that community pharmacies become vape retailers and vape garbage collectors is insulting. The Senate is about to make a bad decision, and they’re urging the Senate to change course. What do you make of that?

Dr Page: Yeah, look, I’d completely agree with that statement, Jo. It would be very disappointing for pharmacists to see themselves as effectively tobacconists, but that’s the reality. Once these vaping products are available through pharmacies, people will know all the answers to the questions that will be asked at the pharmacy and they’ll just be able to go in and get vapes, and that will be very disappointing for our society. At the moment, there’s not much vaping in the Australian community, which is fantastic. But this watering down that’s been forced on the Government by the Greens, there is no doubt it will make vapes easier to access, not just for adults but also for children, and the more vapes that are available on the street, the more likely it is children will start vaping. There’s no evidence that vaping is beneficial for anything, but really it’s a matter of time before we see our streets flooded with vapes under this legislation, in my view. Fortunately, as that Guild statement mentions, there aren’t yet any vaping products that are registered by the TGA, so the longer that remains the case, the better. But of course, the tobacco industry will be working very hard to game its way into having products listed on the therapeutic goods register, and then they’ll be in pharmacies, they’ll be in online pharmacies, people will know the answers to the questions they’ll be asked and off we go.

Jo Trilling: So, what do you think the Government should have done?

Dr Page: I think compromising on this was unfortunate. I mean it might have been a political reality that creates legislation that’s better than no legislation, that’s certainly true. Any restriction on vaping is better than none, but I think it needs to probably continue to look at ways to restrict vaping in our community. I think the Greens statements that vaping should be available to help people quit smoking is without any medical evidence at all, and I think it’s really inappropriate.

Jo Trilling: Good to talk to you. Thanks for your time.

Dr Page: Any time.

Jo Trilling: That was Dr Michael Page, the president of the AMA here in WA.

You can listen to the interview on our AMA (WA) YouTube channel.