WHAT'S HAPPENING

The last time I published a page like this a little over a month ago, I told you that one twat in Canberra has decided you shouldn't be allowed to vape and we shouldn't be allowed to sell you any vaping products, and that he's introduced a bill that will completely outlaw all vape stores, whether they're brick and mortar or online.

The bad news is that the bill has now passed the House of Representatives, and is next bound for the Senate on June 24 where it will face a final vote. Should that vote succeed, and every indication suggests that it will, Mark Butler will move to immediately close all vape stores — permanently.

A domestic retail ban would make it absolutely impossible for you to access the juices and hardware you use today, the only legal option will be to buy low strength pre-mixed flavourless, menthol, or tobacco-flavoured juice and extremely shitty pre-filled pod devices from pharmacies with a prescription — no exceptions.

I really can't express to you just how serious this situation is. You may think that this will only be a temporary setback, or that you'll find some way around the ban so you can continue vaping, even if stores like Vapoureyes close. If you think that, you are wrong. Not only are black market products potentially dangerous, the border ban has already driven black market prices through the roof and reduced supply by more than 50%, and it's only two months old. A total retail ban would utterly destroy what little remains of the vape industry in Australia, and Butler has plans to go even further in the coming months.

Juices — gone. Mods — gone. Tanks — gone. Rebuildables — gone. Even raw flavour concentrates are being targeted — not finished juices, I'm talking about the raw ingredients that are used to make juice, the same concentrates bakers use to make cakes; the government is cracking down hard on the ability to import fucking food flavourings in their deranged campaign to deprive us of our rights. There's no surviving this, for us or for you.

HOW WE CAN STOP THIS TOGETHER

The Senate is our last chance to stop this insanity. The government controls the House of Representatives, and since they're the ones who introduced this bill it was always going to pass the House. But the government does not control the Senate, and if we can convince enough Senators to oppose this bill then the government will be forced to retreat and reconsider its options.

You know this spiel, because I've given it a hundred times already, but I implore you: even if you've contacted your Senator before, do it again right now. In fact, don't just contact your own Senator, contact all of them. And if you've never contacted your Senator, now is the time. It just takes five minutes to fire off an email, and we need absolutely everybody to participate if we stand any chance at all of stopping this.

Call, email, set up meetings, do whatever it takes to get your message in front of them and make them understand that your support of them is contingent on their support of your rights. We don't owe politicians our vote, they have to earn it, and this is their opportunity to show us that they actually give a shit what voters think.

Click here to find the contact details for your Senator and tell them not to support the vaping ban. Your rights depend on it.

Stay angry and be loud,

Savvas, Chris, Morris, and the whole Vapoureyes Australia team.