Australia divided as committee dissenter pleads: ‘Just legalise vaping’

After nearly a year of investigation, a long-awaited parliamentary report into the legalisation of e-cigarettes has delivered both an official blow and an accompanying glimmer of hope for vaping businesses in Australia.

The majority report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport more or less backed the status quo. However, three members of parliament (MPs) from the government coalition – from a total of eight MPs on the committee – have called for e-cigs to be more freely available.

One of their dissenting reports, written by Andrew Laming, an MP and medical doctor, consists of just two brief sentences: “Life is short and shorter for smokers. Just legalise vaping.”