GPs can expect almost a million extra appointments from patients seeking vape scripts in 2024 as the Federal Government’s vaping crackdown begins, says analysis commissioned by the Department of Health and Aged Care.

Of Australia’s 1.3 million vapers, only around 70,000 currently had a nicotine vape prescription, says the report by The Office of Impact Analysis, part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 

It estimates that 20% were exclusively using nicotine-free vapes and another 520,000 were occasional vapers “who are unlikely to seek a prescription for smoking cessation or treatment of nicotine addiction”.

This leaves 450,000 patients who would be driven to GPs for a script.