Department of Health steps in as Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge calls for end to vape sales

The WA Health Department has agreed to meet the City of Fremantle in a bid to shut-down inner city retailers selling illegal vapes. A Fremantle spokesperson confirmed this week that representatives from both the city and department would come together to gain more information about vape sales in the city and explore “suitable enforcement actions”. But health officials could not, or would not, share exactly how many Fremantle shops were operating illegally. “The Department has received referrals from the City of Fremantle and compliance activities have been conducted in this area,” a spokesperson confirmed in a written response this week. “The Department will continue to investigate and act on information received from the City of Fremantle and other local government authorities.” The crackdown comes after Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge publicly called for an end to the sale of illicit vapes in the district. “I’ve been asked a lot by local residents about the number of vape shops in Fremantle,” Ms Fitzhardinge said last week. “It’s true they do seem to be popping up everywhere. “I’d really like to see the end of specialist vape shops in Freo, especially when I see the number of young people who are here every afternoon after school walking past numerous brightly coloured vape shops on their way to public transport..” The mayor’s request is not the first time the port city council has moved to regulate smoking. Last year councillors backed a policy to ban smoking and vaping in Walyalup Koort and High Street Mall. That local law is currently under review and an outcome will be presented to council next year. A spokesperson said it was too early to estimate a time for enforcement. A Department of Health spokesperson told PerthNow this week that referrals had been received from the City of Fremantle and compliance activities had been conducted as a result. “In the past two years, the Department of Health has inspected more than 3000 tobacconists across Western Australia, including many in the Fremantle area,” they said. During this time, the spokesperson said more than 550,000 vapes were seized, estimated to be worth more than $21 million. Statistics on vape seizures within Fremantle were not available. Under current WA legislation, vapes can be bought legally with a prescription from participating pharmacies. Over one in two WA pharmacies will provide someone with a vape if they have a prescription, according to recent data collected by the Australian Council on Smoking and Health. The Perth advocacy group recently conducted a census of pharmacies selling vapes in WA. The census covered 689 pharmacies using the WA Pharmaceutical Registration Board’s pharmacy database. The first wave — conducted prior to October 1 — found 41 per cent of pharmacies were stocking vapes. The second wave reported an increase to 58 per cent of pharmacies stocking vapes. Chief executive Laura Hunter said the clear solution to shut down illicit vape sales in WA was to update the 2006 WA Tobacco Products Control Act. “It will streamline and strengthen compliance and enforcement efforts across the State,” she said.