E-cigarettes with appealing fruity flavours are being sold next to cash shop registers alongside lollies aimed at children, the Cancer Council has warned.
The health group audited 1,519 retailers in NSW and found that four out of five shops which sold e-cigarettes placed them near the counter next to lollies and chocolates targeting children.
It has prompted them to call on the State Government to implement comprehensive laws similar to cigarette controls to crack down on the devices.
Cancer Council NSW tobacco control unit manager Scott Walsberger said the council was worried the use of confectionary and fruit flavours in the liquid nicotine of e-cigarettes was an attempt to lure young people to smoke.
“If adults are using them then children are looking up to them as role models and want to emulate them, which is also a concern,” he said.
During the audit researchers found 5 per cent of NSW retailers registered to sell cigarettes also sold e-cigarettes.
While the percentage of shops selling the devices was low, the marketing where the devices were for sale was prominent and involved flavourings.
Among those outlets which did sell the e-cigarettes 82 per cent of retailers sold them at cash register locations.
Mr Walsberger said research suggests Australia is following the US and UK in uptake of e-cigarette sales.
“The marketing is very reminiscent of what we used to see with tobacco smoking,” he said.
“Through our comprehensive approach to tobacco control, we’ve changed the social environment and how people look at smoking and certainly these products have the potential to reverse that.”
The results of the audit are to be presented at the Cancer Council’s Behavioural Research in Cancer Control conference.
E-cigarettes: no tobacco but some nicotine
While e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, which is a cancer-causing substance, they typically contain potentially toxic and addictive nicotine.
“For smokers [e-cigarettes] are often promoted as a way to quit but what we often see is a lot of dual use of both electronic cigarettes and tobacco products,” Mr Walseberger said.
“From a cancer perspective if you don’t quit completely you don’t realise the health benefits of reducing your cancer risk.”
Health experts said there was still no solid evidence e-cigarettes help people quit smoking and they were concerned it reinforced the behaviour.
“It’s a concern if these products are delaying people from quitting,” Mr Walseberger said.
The devices have created a legal nightmare for regulators.
Federal regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said the devices were not approved for use as a quit smoking product and so it does not regulate them.
Under state laws those devices that do not use nicotine and do not make a therapeutic claims can be sold to everyone.
There are separate laws regarding nicotine. The NSW Government has yet to pass laws to ban juveniles from buying e-cigarettes.
The Cancer Council said there are regulations banning fruit and sweet confectionary-flavoured traditional cigarettes, lolly cigarettes and point of sale displays.
“The lack of current regulation around e-cigarettes threatens to undo the significant progress that has been made,” Mr Walseberger said.
He said the devices should be banned under laws that ban cigarette-like toys.
“We feel these products, particularly if they don’t contain nicotine, are really no more than a toy,” he said.
The Cancer Council wants a suite of laws around e-cigarettes regarding marketing, smoke-free environments and sales to juveniles.