Australian youtuber and vejp celebrity "Vaping Bogan" has decided to leave his home country due to the government's ban on the sale and import of e-cigarettes. His followers are now crowdfunding money for his move.
The very Australian-sounding slang word 'bogan' roughly translates to petty thug or scrounger, but with a strong underclass connotation, and is originally a dirty word. However, for YouTuber Samuel Parsons, the creator of the "Vaping Bogan" channel, the word has become a badge of honor. He is known for reviewing vejp products online and has over 185,000 subscribers on YouTube.
He recently announced in a video that he intends to leave his home country - in protest against what he calls "devastating legislation around vejp products"
- Things here in Australia are anything but good. It's so devastating that it's gotten to the point where I'm going to have to leave my mom, dad and sister," Parsons began his speech to his YouTube subscribers.
Prescription nicotine liquid only
The Australian government has announced plans for comprehensive legislation against the sale, import and use of e-cigarettes. Since then 2020 all vejp products have with nicotine have been banned from over-the-counter sale in Australia. Instead, there has been an attempt to introduce a prescription model whereby those who use, or plan to use, e-cigarettes to quit smoking can be prescribed nicotine e-liquid by a doctor. Pharmacies would then dispense the liquid to the user.
"The model is a total disaster" says the doctor and the quit-smoker Colin Mendelsohn in one post on its website. "Very few doctors prescribe nicotine and 1TP8 users prefer to get what they need from the black market."
Prohibiting even more
At present vejpar 1.3 million Australians. Roadside shoppers have so far received solder hardware and nicotine-free e-liquid, and even convenience stores have caught on to the trend of selling disposable models, but without nicotine. Youth use has increased and the Australian government attributes the new legislation banning all sales to concerns that more young people are taking up vejpa. According to Colin Mendelsohn it is clear that young people, like the elderly, are buying disposable nicotine products via a black market, created, he says, by the bans already in place.
"We know from studies and statistics that 92% of 1TP8 users buy unregistered products, nicotine e-liquid, on the black market. Now the government is trying to tackle this by making it even harder to get hold of legal products. This will not work, it will only make it worse." Colin Mendelsohn.
"Want to help others quit smoking"
In early January, a ban on all imports of disposable vejps (i.e. including the nicotine-free variants) was introduced. But it is the possible upcoming import ban on all other vejp products that is causing concern Vaping Bogan the most. He believes that the combined laws will totally destroy the domestic market.
-"I really have no choice but to leave Australia if I want to continue doing what I love, which is creating content and helping people quit smoking," Parsons said in his posts on YouTube.
He also noted that the fight against the legislation continues, even though the Australian government avoids even discussing the issue. He also pointed out that there will be vejp products in the country in the future.
"They will be available via prescription, in pharmacies. These are the products that the government approves of course. They are already on the shelves, cost 80 Australian dollars, have no taste but a nicotine strength of 59 mg/ml. In other words, it's going to be really expensive to quit smoking in Australia going forward," says Samuel Parsons.
Moving to the UK
Vaping Bogan's channel relies entirely on private donations and quickly followers and subscribers started donating money for the move. In a matter of 24 hours, the youtuber raised USD 5 000. He is now moving to the UK and many of his followers are welcoming him to a country without restrictions in the comments section.
