$1 million worth of vapes have just been seized en route to Perth

A truck carrying 17,000 vapes has been intercepted and its contents seized by the Department of Health – the biggest single seizure in Western Australia to date.

The truck was travelling from New South Wales before a tip-off lead to its interception in Perth. A 22-year-old man from Perth is currently also assisting the Department of Health with its inquiries.

The 17,000 vapes had a street value of over $1 million – and the interception was part of a wider crack down on the illegal sale of vapes across the state. It’s currently illegal to manufacture, supply, or possess a product containing nicotine without a doctor’s prescription, and the contents of vapes and e-cigarettes have been known to include chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer, bug spray and paint stripper.

“There is no doubt vaping is a scourge on the health of young people across Australia, which is why WA has some of the some of the toughest tobacco laws in the country,” said Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson.

“We have increased State-wide monitoring and compliance activities to enforce restrictions on the illegal selling of vapes.”

WA schools are currently supplied with an Anti-Vaping Toolkit to address the high number of teenagers vaping. In addition to this, the State Government has provided the Cancer Council $375,000 to develop a digital campaign specifically targeted towards the risks of vaping, while the Make Smoking History campaign has also been allocated over $2.4 million over the next three years.