20 million illegal vapes seized by border force in just over two years

More than 20 million illegal vapes, with a street value of just over $1 billion, have been seized by law enforcement authorities since Australia's vaping reforms came into effect. Figures obtained exclusively by the ABC show 19.4 million vaping products, with an estimated street value of $974 million, were seized by Australian Border Force (ABF) since January 2024, when the vape importation ban began. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) also removed 2.2 million unlawful vaping products from the community, worth $110.5 million, during that time. Data due to be released in the TGA's upcoming annual performance report show the medicines regulator used the new vaping laws to crackdown on advertising of vapes on social media and online.

In 2024-25, the TGA reported a 300-fold increase in the number of online ad removal requests, up to 8,706, compared to only 29 in the previous financial year. In a statement, the TGA said the medicine regulator "is committed to disrupting the supply of illicit vaping goods". "The laws introduced a single national framework regulating the importation, domestic manufacture, supply, commercial possession and advertising of vapes, and made it unlawful for non‑pharmacy retailers to supply any type of vape," the TGA said. "What we are doing is not just about enforcing the law, it is about protecting the health and wellbeing of Australians now and into the future." A Senate inquiry is currently examining illegal vapes and illegal cigarettes in Australia.

Enforcement must be prioritised: researcher University of Sydney tobacco control researcher Becky Freeman said the increased number of vapes being seized was encouraging. "I'm pleased to see that the ABF has prioritised taking action to prevent these products from ever reaching the hands of young people," Professor Freeman said. "Sustaining high levels of enforcement efforts is a must. Making vapes much more difficult to access is essential to decreasing youth vaping." Emeritus Professor with the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research at the University of Queensland, Wayne Hall, said the large number of vape seizures showed "there is clearly a huge market out there." "The harder test is whether it's going to have an impact on the prevalence of vaping, particularly amongst young people… or whether we sort of encourage people to go back to smoking tobacco if vapes become less available." Professor Freeman said the legislation made advertising any vaping product illegal, which has led to the "incredibly dramatic increase" of online ad removals.

"That's 24 ads a day or an ad an hour, if you will, that the TGA has taken down, has identified as violating our tobacco ad laws," she said. "There were literally thousands and thousands of ads online that were promoting vapes… closing up that loophole brings it all together and shows that we needed these laws. "Advertising… is absolutely one of the key reasons that young people take up vaping because they become more curious about products, they become informed about products, and they are led to believe that it's socially acceptable and socially normal." 'Loopholes' in laws still remain Professor Freeman said the legislation still had concerning "loopholes" . "Meta likes to say in their corporate policies that they absolutely do not allow tobacco or vaping products to be promoted through paid ads," she said.

However, she said Meta still allowed international tobacco companies to have accounts on its platforms. "They're allowed to post content … provided they haven't paid money for those to appear in anyone's feed; they can get around the ad ban that way." Meta was contacted for comment. Professor Hall said online marketing of illegal vapes was getting more creative. "The people involved in promoting those products just find ways around it [by] using code words that don't involve e-cigarettes and so on.

"So, it's a bit of an arms race and the TGA will find people adapting and using different strategies to promote these and sell these products online. Professor Hall has argued for Australia to take a similar approach to New Zealand and the United Kingdom where there is more of a regulated vape industry. "Which is to create a legal market for these products and regulate the type of products that can be sold and ensure that age restrictions on purchases are enforced. "None of that happens in an illicit market," he said.

He said Australia's system of prescription only vapes for adults is a form of regulation but said it's not working. "Australia has attempted to regulate vapes by making them prescription-only products, but it's very hard to get a prescription because doctors won't prescribe them and most pharmacies won't stock them."