Vita gazette – Australia will effectively ban vaping, putting stricter regulations on e-cigarettes than the U.S. and many other countries.

Australian authorities plan to stop selling vaping products at convenience stores and other retailers, stop allowing most vapes to be imported from overseas and ban all single-use, disposable vapes. People can buy a vape if a doctor prescribes it to help them quit smoking, but flavours and colours will be restricted, and the products will come in pharmaceutical-like packaging.

Also known as e-cigarettes, vapes heat a liquid – usually containing nicotine – turning it into a vapour that users inhale. They are widely seen as a product to help smokers quit. But vapes have exploded in popularity as a recreational product, particularly among young people in cities.

“Just like they did with smoking… ‘Big Tobacco’ has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added sweet flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts. No more bubble-gum flavours, pink unicorns or vapes disguised as highlighter pens for kids to hide them in their pencil cases,” Health Minister Mark Butler said in a speech announcing reforms on Tuesday.

Some other countries, like Singapore and Thailand, have also banned vaping.

The Cancer Council said the changes could “reverse the e-cigarette epidemic and prevent history repeating itself for a new generation of Australians”.

Shortness of breath-chest pain

So far, many people have applied to the hospital with various complaints. Some were put on ventilators and taken to the intensive care unit. As a result of the research conducted by the health authorities, it was determined that the use of electronic cigarettes caused the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported “a range of lung-related diseases associated with e-cigarette use” among adolescents and young adults. The most common symptoms of the disease were shortness of breath and chest pain.

CDC: Linked to lung diseases

A 17-year-old teenager in New York died of vaping-related lung disease. The deceased is New York State’s first vaping-related death and is the youngest to die from the mysterious illness nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hundreds of people have died from the disease caused by electronic cigarettes in the United States so far. In addition, a study by the same group found a link between lung diseases and e-cigarette use. The agency also officially advised people to stay away from all related products.

NYU: Detected cases of cancer and death in mice

Scientists from New York University (NYU) experimented on mice to see if electronic cigarettes are a healthier alternative to real cigarettes. The research team, led by Moon-Shong Tang, exposed 40 mice to a nicotine aerosol inhaled in electronic cigarettes for one year. At the end of one year, cancerous tumours developed in the lung tissues of 22.5 percent of 40 mice that inhaled nicotine aerosol 20 hours a week, while 57.5 percent had masses that could turn into cancer in the bladder. On the other hand, during the research process, five mice died in the nicotine-exposed group and two mice each in the control group. The article of the study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.