NSW Senator Hollie Hughes Quit Smoking With E-Cigarettes

This may come as a shock to some Australian vapers, even those who have kept up with the Australian Government’s latest plans for regulating vaping products in the country, but the senator leading the senate’s inquiry into vaping has successfully quit smoking cigarettes with the help of nicotine vaping products. That’s right Aussies, Senator Hollie Hughes has personally used vaping to quit smoking.

“I won’t go back to cigarettes at all.”

Senator Hughes told the Sydney Morning Herald that after switching to vaping she “won’t go back to cigarettes,” which is a sentiment shared by many vapers who have made the switch.

Also Read: NSW MP Michael Johnsen Shares His Vaping Success Story

Before switching to vaping, Senator Hughes was paying $58 per packet of cigarettes. That might not seem particularly high to Australians who have become accustomed to paying the highest prices in the world for cigarettes, but to our non-Australian readers, it just might be a bigger shock than the news of Hughes switching to vaping.

Senator Hughes Proposes A Different Path Forward

The real shocker with all of this is that the senate’s vaping inquiry released its report and called for nicotine vaping products to be administered through a prescription-only program. However, Hughes is not onboard with the plan. Instead, she wants nicotine vaping products more accessible than what the plan calls for. The plan that she would like to see the government pursue is one in which nicotine vaping products are as accessible as cigarettes.

Cigarettes in Australia are extremely expensive compared to other parts of the world where they’re sold, but they’re also highly accessible. Aussies who are of age can buy cigarettes at stores across the country. Simply walk in, pick out a packet, pay the cashier, and walk right out with a packet of smokes. This is something that Australians can’t do with nicotine-containing vaping products. Instead, as Australian vapers already know, it’s a process that entails placing an order with an overseas company and importing it for personal use. Once an order has been placed, it can take days, if not longer, for the vaping supplies to arrive. Cigarettes, in comparison, can be purchased immediately by stopping by a local store and picking up a packet. Hughes does not see the sense in making nicotine vaping products less accessible than cigarettes when international research has shown vaping to be much less harmful than smoking.

Hope Remains For Australia’s Vapers

At this point, Senator Hughes remains hopeful that the government can deliver a better plan to Australians. She was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as having said, “I do hope that we can work with the health minister to say there are people that just want to consume nicotine in a safer way than cigarettes, and you can buy cigarettes pretty much everywhere.”

Having made the switch from smoking to vaping, Hughes reportedly said that she now has “zero want, need, desire for a cigarette” and the mere thought of one makes her “feel quite ill.”

“I have zero want, need, desire for a cigarette at all, in fact, the thought of one makes me feel quite ill.”

How We Got Here

Vaping in Australia has been a wild ride for those involved. Just last year, the health minister issued a proposal to ban the importation of nicotine-containing vaping products that MPs on both sides called “too rushed” in an open letter. After the revolt, the ban was delayed for six months, providing a bit of relief to Aussie vapers. Then the plan to implement the proposed ban was taken off the table.

Now that the ban is no longer looming over the heads of vapers in Australia, there’s a new concern and that concern is the prescription-only model that the government appears poised to implement later in the year.

How To Get Your Nicotine Prescription

Australian doctors can provide a prescription for nicotine, however, the number of GPs willing to do so is limited. If your doctor is unable to help, there are doctors who potentially can. ATHRA maintains a list of registered medical practitioners who are available to assess your suitability for vaping and can provide you with a prescription for nicotine if it is appropriate.