Largest bust of vapes, nangs in Australia found in Perth’s north-east
Illegal vapes and nangs with an estimated street value of $10 million have been seized from a warehouse in Perth’s north-east in a bust believed to be the biggest of its kind in Australia.
The single haul is similar to the total number of vapes seized by NSW health officials in the last 12 months.
A tip-off led Health Department compliance officers to the stockpile, which weighed about 25 tonnes – 15 tonnes worth of vapes and 10 tonnes of nangs, or nitrous oxide canisters.
About 45 pallets of boxes were stacked inside the room, containing 300,000 disposable and rechargeable vaping devices.
West Australian Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the tip-off had stopped 15 tonnes of vapes hitting the streets.
“The state government is stepping up compliance, vaping is illegal without a prescription and retailers need to stop selling them,” she said.
“It’s great work by the compliance officers and the local government involved.”
Lab tests showed some vapes seized contained 900 milligrams of nicotine, equal to what is found in almost 100 cigarettes.
In WA individuals face a three-year jail term if they are caught selling vapes to people without a prescription, with fines up to $225,000 for retailers.
“It’s appalling to see vapes targeted at children and these clearly are with their flavours and their colours and the names,” Sanderson said.
Around 45 boxes weighing 25 tonnes was seized from the warehouse.
Emergency physician and clinical toxicologist at Royal Perth Hospital Dr Jessamine Soderstrom said vape-related lung injuries had been recorded in children as young as 15.
She said users could never be sure what they were inhaling.
“Even the vapes that have been sold as non-nicotine containing vapes contain nicotine and they’re being marketed to young people and that is a big issue, especially when they contain flavouring and lovely smells,” she said.
“Chemicals like formaldehyde which is used to preserve things, other things like acetal that causes popcorn lung, and vitamin E which has also been known to cause lung injury.”
Sanderson said the 180,000 nangs that had also been found would no longer hit shops in WA, and that the “sheer volume of them shows that they weren’t destined for our cake bakers”.
Nitrous oxide is primarily used in commercial kitchens, and chronic inhalation can destroy the spinal cord lining and cut function to a user’s body.
Earlier this year, 19-year-old Molly Day spent three months in hospital battling an addiction to nangs. Her recovery involved relearning how to use her hands and legs.
In 2018, Royal Perth Hospital’s emergency department saw two admissions due to the effects of nangs – a number which increased to 26 in 2022.
Sanderson has also banned the sale of nangs to anyone under 16 and is in the process of adding further restrictions.
“I have received preliminary advice form the Chief Health Officer around some of those recommendations, I have asked them to go back and tighten them a bit further,” she said.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.