It’s too early to tell whether new penalties targeting vape retailers in Queensland will prove effective, an expert says.

“We’re going to have to wait and see. The reality is that we don’t know at this stage,” Robert Taylor – policy and engagement manager at the Alcohol and Drug Foundation – told Government News.

Last week, the Queensland government became the first state or territory to pass penalties to deter retailers from supplying vapes and illicit cigarettes.

Amendments to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 mean retailers could face up to two years’ jail and fines of up to $1.6 million.

“We make no apologies and will do everything we can to protect Queenslanders, especially kids, from the harms of smoking and vaping,” minister for health Shannon Fentiman said.

While largely supportive of the move, the main concern of the ADF is that vapes remain accessible to those that need them. “Ultimately, we want to make sure that there is a good level of accessibility without encouraging those who wouldn’t otherwise be using them to use them,” Taylor said, adding: “We’re particularly concerned about young people using them.”

And there are reasons to be concerned. An Australian schools survey found that, while the number of students reporting “ever smoking” has decreased over time, a significantly higher proportion of students reported “ever vaping” in 2022/23 compared to 2014 and 2017 (30% vs 13% and 14%).

The prevalence of students “ever smoking and vaping” in 2022/23 (12%) was also significantly higher than 2014 and 2017 (both 8%).

Following federal government legislation outlawing the retail sale of vapes earlier this year, all states and territories will be required to take Queensland’s lead and introduce similar penalties.

While unsure of the effectiveness of such laws, when it comes to harm-reduction policy, Taylor said: “It’s got to be a whole of government approach and it’s got to be health-based.”

He told GN punitive approaches to drug use, including nicotine use, are ineffective. “They don’t deter people and they don’t effectively resolve the underlying health concerns that may be related to alcohol or other drug use, or in this case vaping.”

For a harm-reduction policy to be effective it has to be co-designed, Taylor said. “We know that programs that are designed alongside people who are using them are best. So if it’s designing a program to prevent or reduce young people’s use of vapes, doing that with young people is the most effective thing to do. But whatever it is, it needs to be a health-led response.”