Vaping store numbers increasing
Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps has raised the rise of stores which sell vapes on the Peninsula in Federal Parliament, in response to concerns by the Newport Chamber of Commerce and Newport Residents Association.
Rowie Dillon, Newport Chamber of Commerce President became concerned in May when she heard a convenience store selling vapes was going to open on Barrenjoey Road, opposite a bus stop used by school children. “Newport is such a tranquil seaside community. We don’t need this here.”
In June a second convenience store selling vapes opened three shops down. There is no suggestion that any of these shops are doing anything illegal.
Ms Dillon is alarmed at the growing number of stores selling vapes in such a small community. “Between Avalon to Newport, it’s a five kilometre radius that now has four vape and e-cigarette convenience stores selling to a community population with around 6,800 families.” Avalon and Mona Vale Public Schools are located close to the shopping precincts, and students from Barrenjoey High School and Pittwater High School use them as a thoroughfare.
In New South Wales it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to anyone under 18, though policing has become difficult as many retailers sell online.
Ms Scamps took up the matter with Federal Health Minister Mark Butler in the Senate on 12 September, asking him when the Federal Government would introduce legislation promised in May to make the sale of vapes illegal without a prescription. The Government is still negotiating with states and territories on how the legislation would be rolled out, as it would mean the shut down of all existing vape stores, currently legal if they sell vapes without nicotine.
“The proliferation of e-cigarettes stores and the rise in the number of young people vaping is one of the top issues that many parents raise with me,” Ms Scamps told Peninsula Living Pittwater. “Anyone who has seen the way these products are marketed will know they are packaged to be attractive to children. Bright colours and sweet lolly-like flavours hide the fact that these products can contain as many as 200 toxic chemicals.
“E-cigarettes could be creating the next generation of smokers and it’s crucial that we take steps to protect our children.”
An earlier version of this story mistakenly implied that a local business in Bilgola Plateau was selling vapes. We apologise to the business involved for the incorrect imputation that the store sold vapes.
