Testimional – Australian Consumer Alliance

I’m a 44-year-old wife and mother. I don’t drink, I don’t gamble, and I don’t smoke anymore — quitting was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. The only thing that helped me stay off cigarettes was switching to nicotine pouches, a safer, smoke-free alternative that fits quietly into my life.

This morning I read an article about Melbourne planning to decriminalise personal-use street drugs by 2030 — a move framed as harm reduction. We have safe injection rooms for people using far more dangerous substances. Yet somehow, I’m not allowed to use the one product that helped me quit smoking and stay smoke-free.

How does that make sense?

I’m not asking for anything extreme. I’m simply asking to be allowed to make a responsible, informed choice about my own health — to use a low-risk nicotine product that sits under my lip. If Australia can embrace harm reduction for hard drugs, why is a smoke-free nicotine pouch treated as unacceptable?

I’ve done everything right. I quit smoking. I chose a safer alternative. I’m raising a family and contributing to my community. I should be trusted to make this decision for myself.

Adults deserve access to safer options — and we deserve policies that reflect real-world harm reduction, not contradictions.

“I smoked heavily for many years and repeatedly tried to quit using conventional nicotine replacement therapies, but none worked for me. It was only through vaping that I was able to stop smoking, and it was only after discovering nicotine pouches that I was finally able to leave vaping behind. Unlike vaping, nicotine pouches are the only nicotine product I have used where I experienced no adverse health effects.

Yet, a poorly considered policy decision has taken away access for me and many others in the same position. This decision overturned a prescription-only model that already struck a fair balance by restricting access to adults with a valid prescription while reducing the risk of access by young people.

Adults should have the right to choose lower-risk alternatives, and Australia should restore the right for prescription holders to import nicotine pouches for personal use.”

I smoked cigarettes for 30 years.

Like many smokers, I tried repeatedly to quit. I used nicotine replacement products and even tried Champix, but nothing worked long term. About 10 years ago, I finally managed to stop smoking by switching to vaping.

While vaping was a huge improvement over cigarettes, I was never completely comfortable with continuing to inhale nicotine into my lungs. Then, while playing golf with a friend from Norway, I was introduced to nicotine pouches. I had never seen them before.

In February this year, I stopped vaping completely and switched to nicotine pouches. Nearly six months later, I have not had a single cigarette or vape.

For the first time in more than 30 years, I feel like I have found a nicotine product that works for me without smoke or vapour entering my lungs.

That is why I was shocked and disappointed to learn that nicotine pouches are being banned. These products already required a doctor’s prescription for personal importation, making them one of the most tightly controlled nicotine products available. Yet cigarettes and vapes remain legal.

I struggle to understand why a product that helped me stop smoking and stop vaping is being taken away, especially when access was already restricted to people under medical supervision.

I also fear that this ban will simply create a black market. People who have successfully switched to nicotine pouches will not suddenly stop using nicotine. Many will either return to vaping or cigarettes, or seek products from unregulated sources.

I am asking the Government to reconsider this decision. Please continue to allow adults with a valid prescription to import nicotine pouches for personal use.

For me, this is not about convenience. It is about keeping access to the one product that finally helped me leave cigarettes behind after 30 years of addiction.

My name is Thomas Gregory, I have been a smoker of cigarettes since 16, vapes since they came through and became easily accessible and now being 31 and in a public position of work, I started ZYNS. I did this not just for myself and stress. I did this because I felt that after years of these other options I had troubles breathing and sleeping. Along with the bad breath that followed and stained teeth. Once I had kids I realised I had to give those up, I started on the ZYNS early this year, and found out after starting this change, I am having another child.

Now after the change to ZYNS and the child, I have had more energy, I’m more active getting involved with my kids, my kids have enjoyed the change, even at work it’s noticeable and people enjoy being around me there as well.

My journey with nicotine has been a long one, and it started when I was only 13 years old.

Like many young people, I started smoking cigarettes way too early. What began as something I thought was normal quickly became a 19 year habit that followed me through some of the most important years of my life. By the time I reached my early 30s, I knew I needed to stop. I had a family, a future ahead of me, and I did not want cigarettes controlling my life anymore.

I tried to quit the way we were always told to quit. I tried Champix, nicotine gum and patches. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. In fact, they made me feel sick and miserable. I wanted to quit, but the available options just were not working for my body.

Then I discovered vaping.

For me, vaping was the thing that finally helped me leave cigarettes behind. It gave me a way to move away from the smoke, tar and chemicals from burning tobacco while still managing my nicotine cravings. It was not an overnight fix, but it was the first thing that actually worked.

Over the next four years, I became heavily involved in the vaping community. I started my own small business selling vape devices and spent a lot of time teaching friends and others how to use them properly as a way to move away from cigarettes. I organised vape meets, connected with other vapers and even streamed talk shows with fellow vapers to share experiences and help people who were also trying to make a change.

The thing people need to understand is that many of us were not using these products because we wanted to stay addicted. We were using them because we had already tried the approved options and failed. We were looking for a realistic way to move away from cigarettes.

Eventually, even vaping became something I wanted to step away from. After years of use, I found it was becoming too heavy on my lungs. I wanted something that worked better for me long term, so I moved to nicotine pouches.

For the first time in decades, I felt like I was actually in control of nicotine instead of nicotine controlling me.

The difference was huge. I was able to reduce my nicotine levels from around 10mg down to only 4mg, using roughly three or four pouches a day.

I am now a father of three young children under 10 years old. I have a lot of life left to live and a lot of memories I want to make with my kids. The last thing I want to do is go back to smoking or return to something that damages my lungs. I have worked hard to move away from cigarettes and reduce my dependence.

That is why the current direction of nicotine policy in Australia is so frustrating.

Instead of supporting adults who have successfully moved away from cigarettes and are responsibly reducing their nicotine use, the government has created a situation where people like me are being pushed towards fewer choices. When legal and regulated options disappear, people do not simply stop needing nicotine overnight. Many will look elsewhere.

The biggest concern is that the alternatives available through unofficial channels are often much stronger. Instead of allowing people who are carefully reducing their nicotine levels to continue their progress, these changes risk pushing some people towards unknown products with much higher nicotine strengths.

This feels like poor management of a problem rather than a genuine solution. Taxpayers who have spent years trying to improve their health should not feel like they are being ignored by the very systems that are supposed to help them.

I am not asking for special treatment. I am not asking for children to have access to nicotine products. I am asking for sensible policies that recognise the reality of adult smokers and former smokers who are trying to make better choices.

My story is not about promoting nicotine. My story is about quitting cigarettes, protecting my health, and being able to enjoy a long life with my family.

After everything I have done to get here, it is incredibly disappointing to feel like government decisions could push people backwards instead of helping them move forwards.

I smoked cigarettes for years and always knew I needed to quit, but breaking the habit wasn’t easy. Switching to nicotine pouches has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. I no longer have the smell of cigarette smoke on my clothes or in my car, and I don’t have to step outside for a smoke break.

While nicotine pouches aren’t risk-free and still contain nicotine, they’ve been a much better alternative for me than continuing to smoke cigarettes or vaping. They’ve helped me move away from smoking and vaping and I feel like I’ve taken a positive step toward improving my health and everyday life.

With ban coming into effect, I’m back to square one with finding another alternative.