Striking parallels between Australia’s response to COVID-19 and vaping

Posted on October 30, 2024 By Colin

YESTERDAY MARK BUTLER REPORTED on the damning findings of Australia's management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite these revelations, Butler remains unaware that the same fatal flaws in decision-making and policy are being repeated in Australia’s management of vaping.

Ignoring the evidence

According to Mr. Butler, Australia’s initial approach to COVID-19 was precautionary—a cautious response in the face of limited information. However, as more evidence emerged, policies failed to adapt accordingly. There was, as he put it, a "lack of a shift from that position in the early months to a position that was more evidence-based, that balanced risks and benefits."

As the report states, "more contentious measures, such as enforced quarantine, curfews and closing outdoor playgrounds, were not supported by pre-existing evidence".

This same mistake is apparent in vaping policy. The initial cautious approach has become an unyielding stance, ignoring a substantial and growing body of evidence that supports vaping as a harm-reduction tool. Evidence now clearly shows that vaping can greatly improve public health if carefully regulated. Yet, instead of embracing this potential, the government continues to focus on small and hypothetical risks and a moral panic surrounding youth vaping, creating significant barriers to its uptake by adult smokers.

Double standard

One striking difference between the response to COVID and vaping is the double standard around long-term safety. COVID vaccines were widely embraced within several months of clinical trials - no concerns were raised about unknown long-term risk. However, in the case of vaping products, fear of unknown long-term harms is still cynically used to argue against vaping, which has been in widespread use globally since 2007.

Erosion of personal freedom

The COVID-19 report also underscores the personal freedoms lost due to heavy-handed, controlling regulations. Australians felt deprived of their autonomy and rights in ways that, as the report stated, “had a profound impact on the lives of ordinary Australians.”

Vaping regulations follow a similar pattern, stripping away the freedom and right of adult smokers to make choices about their health. These policies infantilize smokers, treating them as if they are incapable of making informed health decisions. By severely restricting vaping, these regulations effectively trap many smokers in their addiction, removing a viable exit path from deadly smoking.

Decline in public trust

One of the most profound findings of the COVID-19 report was the erosion of trust in public health authorities. Many Australians felt resentful and began to question the legitimacy of health information altogether, a distrust with lasting consequences for future health initiatives.

The same distrust is brewing in response to vaping restrictions. Many people who smoke or vape are frustrated, disillusioned, and left wondering how their government could enforce policies that harm rather than help. This frustration has fostered a climate of suspicion and conspiracy theories.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians are now willing to defy the law to access vaping as a health improvement measure. If the government has taken such drastic and misguided steps on vaping, why should the public trust its future health directives?

Disproportionate response

The COVID-19 report highlights how restrictive strategies—such as lockdowns, border closures, school shutdowns, and vaccine mandates—were excessive and unjustified after the pandemic’s initial wave.

Similarly, vaping regulations have become needlessly harsh and restrictive and do not match the risks of a relatively benign behaviour. It is absurd that vaping is regulated far more strictly than deadly cigarettes. The current policies make vaping less accessible, less affordable, and less appealing, pushing smokers away from a safer alternative and, in some cases, forcing them to remain with the more harmful option of smoking.

Harm to mental health

The COVID report found that harsh resrictions “increased social isolation, stress, anxiety, uncertainty, loss of control, disruption to daily routines and concerns for the wellbeing of family and loved  ones, and created the conditions for either the onset of mental ill health or deterioration of existing conditions”.

This is in line with the anxiety, stress and anger of people who vape. They have been fed misinformation, subjected to arbitrary and flawed regulations and effectively denied access to appealing and legal vaping products to help them quit smoking. Many vapers have reported a decline in their mental health and have a genuine fear of relapsing to smoking. More here.

Conclusion

In summary, Australia’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaping regulation reveal a troubling pattern of rigid policy-making that disregards evidence, restricts personal freedoms, undermines public trust and has created high levels of stress and anxiety. It’s time to reconsider these approaches, taking a more balanced, evidence-driven stance that genuinely prioritizes public health and respects individual rights.

Resources

COVID-19 Response Inquiry Report. Commonwealth Government 29 October 2024

Transcript of Mr Butler's speech, 29 October 2024