Tobacconists and convenience stores still selling illegal vapes almost three months after a nationwide ban came into force could soon face prosecution, as Health Minister Mark Butler signalled the need for a “far more assertive approach”.

Australia became the first country to ban the sale of non-therapeutic vapes in July, with adults still able to purchase e-cigarettes in pharmacies without a prescription from October. 

Under the changes, non-pharmacy businesses could face multi-million dollar fines and up to seven years in prison if they are caught importing, manufacturing, supplying or advertising any kind of vape.

However, the highly addictive devices remain widely available on the black market, sold under the counter by some tobacconists and convenience stores.

Mr Butler told Insiders on Sunday that it was “quite clear that some convenience and tobacconist stores are breaking the law” and that “we have to switch to a far more assertive approach”.

The federal government has so far tried to encourage retailers to surrender their vape stocks to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Mr Butler said, including through business inspections conducted alongside state authorities “to inform them of the new laws and warn them of the consequences”.

But that softer approach could soon come to an end, with the health minister warning that prosecutions are on the horizon.

“I want to see prosecutions starting to be prepared by authorities because this is too important to the health of young people,” he said.

“I never pretended this would be shut down overnight.”

‘Recruiting a new generation to nicotine addiction’

The government has long warned that a new generation of nicotine addicts would be created without urgent action to stop young people from being able to access vapes.

Almost one in 10 teenagers aged 14 to 17 vaped in 2023, a five-fold increase since 2019. Rates for 18 to 24-year-olds quadrupled in that same time to 21 per cent — the first generation in 25 years to buck the trend of declining nicotine use.

The federal government originally wanted to ban all sales of vapes without a medical prescription, but the laws were watered down to allow adults to purchase e-cigarettes from pharmacies without a prescription from October as part of a deal with the Greens.

The vapes sold in pharmacies are designed to be exclusively for people trying to quit smoking and only come in menthol, mint or tobacco flavours, in contrast to the wide range of sweet, fruity flavours currently available under the counter in some convenience stores and tobacconists. 

Shadow health minister Anne Ruston on Sunday said that “kids are still being targeted by a thriving and dangerous black market” under the federal government’s vaping regulation. 

“This government has made it undeniably clear that they are not up to the job of cracking down on organised crime and protecting children from the harms of vaping,” she said in a statement.

The Coalition would instead create an illegal tobacco and vaping taskforce led by the Australian Federal Police and Border Force, she said, to “tackle illegal vapes from the border to the shopfront”.  

But Mr Butler on Sunday said the retail bans — which have been in place since July 1 — were “starting to have an effect”, pointing to vape stores in his electorate that have had to shut their doors.

“Let’s remember why we are doing this: vapes were introduced to help hardened smokers kick the habit but we learned very quickly that was not what it was about,” he said.

“It was actually about recruiting a new generation to nicotine addiction.

“A whole lot of people say it’s too hard, including the Liberal Party and the industry itself, but I’m determined to keep fighting this and protect the health of our younger Australians.”

The July ban was the latest in a series of changes to vape laws implemented by the federal government. 

In January, almost all disposable vapes were banned from being imported into Australia. Since then, Mr Butler said more than five million vapes had been seized at the border.