NSW cracking down on illegal vapes-tobacco shops on high streets + School OurFuture program prevents teen vaping - open to Secondary schools
Illegal vape and tobacco shops across NSW are finally being targeted, with the Government announcing on Sunday 27 July 2025 tough new laws after more than a year of pressure from local communities and independent MPs including Pittwater’s Jacqui Scruby.
The laws introduce some of the strongest penalties in the country, including up to 7 years in jail, million dollar fines, and powers to shut dangerous shops down for up to a year.
Jacqui Scruby MP said the new focus on enforcement is what’s needed to stop the proliferation of tobacconists engaging in illegal trade, an issue which she receives a high volume of constituent concerns about.
“We can’t have illegal trade, operated by organised crime permitted to operate from local community shopfronts.
“These products are being sold to kids, often in plain sight near schools and parks, and we’ve had no real way to stop it. That’s been both dangerous and absurd,” Ms Scruby said.
“If the government can close a restaurant for being unhygienic it should also close a shopfront for illegal trade facilitating organised crime.”
“This is about health, safety and basic fairness. These stores are selling addictive products to teenagers, avoiding tax, and ignoring every rule in the book, while local businesses doing the right thing are losing trade and are punished for it.”
Ms Scruby has raised the issue in Parliament and in direct meetings with the Health Minister and the Crime Commission, and has worked with parents, schools and community members to map problem areas and escalate action.
In April, Ms Scruby met with a group of residents from Bilgola concerning a tobacconist which was selling illegal products, which was subsequently reported and has now closed down.
The new laws will allow authorities to bring criminal charges, and allow landlords to terminate leases where illegal activity is occurring.
“This is a win for the community. We pushed hard for powers like shop closures and enforcement at the local level because communities like Pittwater have been left to deal with this alone for too long,” Ms Scruby said.
“This is a big win for kids’ health, for local businesses, and for common sense. Now we just need to make sure the laws are used, and that every single illegal shop gets shut down.”
The legislation amendments form part of the NSW Government’s commitment to protecting the community from the harms of tobacco and vapes, and will include, among other things:
- A new offence for the commercial possession of illicit tobacco with a maximum penalty of over $1.5 million and 7 years’ imprisonment.
- New penalties for the sale of illicit tobacco with a maximum penalty of over $1.5 million and 7 years’ imprisonment.
- The introduction of short-term (up to 90 days) and long-term (up to 12 months) closure orders for premises selling illicit tobacco, illegal vaping goods, or selling tobacco without a licence.
- New offences and penalties for anyone who breaches these closure orders, including for entering closed premises or selling products from closed premises.
- Lease termination powers for landlords where a closure order is in place.
- New nation-leading offences for falsely claiming to be licensed; resisting seizure; and attempting to retake seized products.
In addition to the tough new measures in this new legislation, the NSW Government will also commence a targeted consultation on a new offence for landlords who knowingly lease their premises to illicit tobacco and vape suppliers.
These new penalties and offences will complement the tobacco licensing scheme which came into effect from 1 July 2025. The scheme ensures accurate information is collected on tobacco retailing and wholesaling activities in NSW to support enforcement efforts, deter tobacco retailing businesses from operating outside of the law and provide greater oversight of the tobacco retail industry.
If an applicant has been found guilty of an offence relating to the sale or supply of tobacco or vaping goods, they could be refused a licence to sell these products.
From 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025, NSW Health:
- conducted over 700 retailer inspections and seized:
- more than 90,000 nicotine vapes, e-liquids and pouches with an estimated street value around $2.9 million;
- more than 6 million cigarettes and 1,100 kg of other illicit tobacco products with an estimated street value of around $6.8 million; and
- issued around 150 penalty notices, totalling around $316,000.
The NSW Government has established a cross-agency NSW Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, with senior representatives from NSW Health, NSW Police, the Department of Customer Service, the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport, and the Department of Communities and Justice.
The Taskforce has developed options and recommendations for the NSW Government to strengthen compliance and enforcement activities in NSW to reduce the availability of illegal tobacco in the community.
Minister for Health, The Hon. Ryan Park, stated:
“We understand the community’s frustration at the growth of the illicit tobacco market.
“These will be among the toughest penalties in the country and will send a clear message to bad actors that selling illegal tobacco and vaping goods will not be tolerated in NSW.
“We are disrupting the business model of the large-scale criminals who profit from addiction, tax evasion, and putting young people at risk.
“This isn’t just a serious health issue, it’s about fairness, because these illegal operators are undercutting small businesses that are doing the right thing.
“I know many landlords have also expressed their concerns about illegal tobacco operations occurring on their premises. These new powers will give them certainty and the opportunity to terminate leases where there is a closure order in place.
“These changes are on top of the tobacco licensing scheme which came into effect on 1 July and will help to clean out bad actors in the NSW tobacco market and level the playing field for small businesses who do the right thing.”
School OurFutures program prevents teen vaping
In related news, on Tuesday July 29, the Australian Government announced that in a major public health breakthrough, an Australian trial of the school-based OurFutures Vaping Prevention Education program has demonstrated real-world outcomes in preventing youth vaping.
Published in leading global health journal, The Lancet, a randomised controlled trial involving more than 5,000 students across 40 schools found students who participated in the program were 65 per cent less likely to have used vapes after 12 months compared to those who did not do the course and 80 per cent said the information they learned will help them handle vaping situations in future.
Funded by the Australian Government through the Medical Research Futures Fund and National Health and Medical Research Council, the trial is the first Australian school-based eHealth intervention proven to prevent vaping use in adolescents.
The program uses cartoon-based stories, quizzes, and classroom activities to engage and inform students. It was co-designed with young people and teachers to fit the national curriculum.
These positive findings come as the latest data from Generation Vape reveals that young people are vaping less and that vaping is increasingly seen as uncool and socially unacceptable among young people.
The OurFutures vaping program will be rolled out in schools across the country until 2028, with long-term follow-up data expected in 2026.
All secondary schools can register their interest to participate in the program and sign up today.
The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, stated:
“The OurFutures Vaping Prevention Education program is helping young Australians make informed choices and resist the pressures of vaping. It’s smart, scalable, and evidence shows that it works.
“This is exactly the kind of evidence-based, preventive action we need to protect the health of our kids.
“Young people are turning away from vaping. They’re seeing it for what it is – harmful, addictive, and pushed by Big Tobacco.
“That’s a testament to the power of education, community, and strong government action.”
The Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, said:
“Vaping is a major public health issue – and a major problem in our schools.
“Principals and teachers will tell you that vapes are causing serious behaviour problems in the classroom.
“Evidence-based programs like OurFutures will be critical to getting young people off vapes.
“On the back of these positive results, this program will now roll out more broadly to give teachers across the country the tools they need to educate young people and change behaviour when it comes to vaping.”
Our Futures Institute CEO Ken Wallace, stated:
“Giving young people the knowledge and skills to resist Big Tobacco’s deliberately predatory tactics and make healthier choices is what world-leading public health action looks like.
“We’re proud to be offering a proven program to schools across the nation to protect our children’s future and stop a generation from suffering from deadly, preventable health conditions.
“Rates of vaping among young people remain unacceptably high, and vaping is an established risk factor for tobacco smoking. We know there is more to do. Prevention is our best shot at breaking the cycle of addiction, before it starts.”
Read, The OurFutures Vaping eHealth intervention to prevent e-cigarette use among adolescent students in Australia: a cluster randomised controlled trial, in The Lancet online.