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☆ Australia restricts vape sales to pharmacies in ‘world-leading’ move to cut nicotine use
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —Buying a vape just got harder in Australia with the introduction of some of the world’s toughest anti-vaping laws that limit the sale of vapes with nicotine to pharmacies. From Monday, users will need to present a doctor’s prescription to a pharmacist to buy vapes, and the choice will be limited to three flavors: mint, menthol and tobacco. Dozens of countries have banned disposable vapes, but with the ban on vape sales in shops, service stations and other small retailers, Australia has introduced “world leading” laws, according to the government. Adults will be able to buy vapes in pharmacies, without a prescription – but the devices may be hard to find after some leading pharmacy chains declared they would refuse to stock them. Despite the rising cost of cigarettes, some fear that young vapers – having been locked out of the vape market – will turn to cigarettes to get their nicotine fix.

Persons: It’s, ”, Mark Butler, Anthony Tassone, Jordon Steele, John, vapers, ’ ” Hester Wilson Organizations: Australia CNN, Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Australia’s Greens Party, Greens, ” Greens, vapes, Royal Australian College of General, ABC, US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Justice Department Locations: Brisbane, Australia, United States, United Kingdom

[1/2] Vape pens stand in a display cabinet at a vape store, in Melbourne, Australia, May 2, 2023. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes in January, the Health Minister said on Tuesday, the first step in a crackdown aimed at curbing the growing popularity of these nicotine-filled devices with young people. Despite one of the lowest rates of smoking in the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries, vaping in Australia is growing rapidly, especially among the young. First flagged in August, the reforms aim to curb the device's popularity in response to research showing the potential for long-term harm. To ensure the bans don't limit access for smokers looking to quit, doctors and nurses will be given expanded powers in January to prescribe therapeutic vapes where clinically appropriate.

Persons: Sandra Sanders, Mark Butler, Butler, Lewis Jackson, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Health, Australian Border Force, Therapeutic Goods Administration, OECD, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia

☆ Rescuers race against time to find the missing sub in the Atlantic bound for the Titanic site
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean raced against time early Tuesday to find a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic. OceanGate's expeditions to the Titanic wreck site include archaeologists and marine biologists. Gallo identified Nargeolet, a friend who has led multiple expeditions to the Titanic, on Tuesday during an interview with CNN. OceanGate hired the Polar Prince to ferry dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site. CBS journalist David Pogue, who went on the trip last year, noted his vessel got turned around looking for the Titanic.

Persons: Mauger, NBC's, John Mauger, David Concannon, John's, Concannon, OceanGate, Hamish Harding, Harding, Mark Butler, Butler, Victor Vescovo, Mariana, Richard Garriott de Cayeux, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman, Allah, Paul, Henry Nargeolet, David Gallo, Gallo, David Pogue, Pogue, Mike Reiss, Alistair Greig, submersibles, Greig Organizations: Discovery, U.S . Coast Guard, OceanGate Expeditions, Authorities, Rescue Coordination Center, Rescuers, Polar, Canadian Boeing, Twitter, U.S, Lockheed, The Associated Press, AP, Coast Guard, United Arab, Action Aviation, World Records, Shepard, The Explorers, SETI Institute, CNN, CBS, University College London Locations: Nova Scotia, British, St, John's, Newfoundland, Canadian, Bahamas, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, California, Virginia

A crew of five people, including a pilot and four others, were on board the Titan submersible when it lost contact with its support ship during a dive to the Titanic wreckage site in the North Atlantic on Sunday. Here are the passengers who have been confirmed to have been aboard the missing craft. Hamish HardingImage Hamish Harding. Dirty Dozen Productions, via Action AviationHamish Harding, a British businessman and explorer, was among those aboard the submersible, according to Mark Butler, the managing director of Mr. Harding’s company, Action Aviation. Mr. Harding, 58, who holds several Guinness World Records, including one for the longest time spent traversing the deepest part of the ocean on a single dive, wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday that he was proud to finally announce that he had joined OceanGate’s mission “on the sub going down to the Titanic.”

Persons: Hamish Harding, Action Aviation Hamish Harding, Mark Butler, Harding, ” Organizations: Atlantic, Credit, Action Aviation, World Records Locations: British

☆ A British explorer and businessman is among those on the missing submersible.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hamish Harding, a British businessman and explorer, was among those aboard the submersible that went missing in the North Atlantic on Sunday, according to Mark Butler, the managing director of Mr. Harding’s company, Action Aviation. Mr. Harding, 58, who holds several Guinness World Records, including one for the longest time spent traversing the deepest part of the ocean on a single dive, wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday that he was proud to finally announce that he had joined OceanGate’s mission “on the sub going down to the Titanic.”Mr. Harding is the chairman of Action Aviation, a sales and air operations company based in Dubai. He had previously flown to space on a mission by Jeffrey P. Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket company. He also took part in a mission for reintroduction of cheetahs to India, and holds a world record for the fastest circumnavigation of Earth via both the geographic poles by plane.

Persons: Hamish Harding, Mark Butler, Harding, Mr, Jeffrey P Organizations: Atlantic, Action Aviation, World Records, Origin Locations: British, Dubai, India

Vaping involves heating a liquid that contains nicotine in an e-cigarette which is vaporized and inhaled by the user. “Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit,” Butler said. “It was not sold as a recreational product – in particular not one for our kids. Vaping concerns across the worldResearchers have found links between nicotine addiction among adolescents and children as a result of increased vaping habits. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is also tackling high-levels of youth vaping but is pushing it as an alternative to help long-term smokers quit.

☆ Australia to ban recreational vaping in e-cigarette crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - Australia on Tuesday proposed to tighten e-cigarette laws, including introducing new controls on import and packaging to stamp out vaping especially among kids, in the biggest crackdown on the tobacco industry in more than a decade. But Butler will say that vaping has become a recreational product now, mostly sold to teenagers and young people. "This is a product targeted at our kids, sold alongside lollies and chocolate bars," Butler will say. Tobacco firms were quick to switch to e-cigarettes that offer different flavours and created designs targeting a new generation of users. ($1 = 1.5088 Australian dollars)Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia drops COVID testing requirements for travellers arriving from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Alasdair Pal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - Australia will drop the requirement for travellers arriving from China to test for COVID-19 before departure from midnight on March 11, the country's health minister said in a statement on Thursday. The measures also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau. “This is a sensible, measured decision based on decreasing COVID-19 case numbers in China, regular data updates from China on case numbers, and the fact that we have strengthened our capacity to detect and respond to emerging variants of concern within Australia of international origin,” Health Minister Mark Butler said. Several other countries that implemented similar measures such as the United States, South Korea and Japan have recently either repealed their arrangements or announced an intention to repeal them, he added. Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia to expand rollout of fifth COVID vaccine shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The decision expands eligibility for the booster shot to include about 14 million people, more than half the country's population, who will be offered Omicron variant-specific vaccines from Feb. 20, Butler said. Only severely immuno-compromised people had been recommended to take a fifth dose until now, the advice being to receive the booster three months after their fourth shot. The rollout of the fifth shot will help "deal with what inevitably will be the next phase of the next wave of COVID sometime over the course of 2023," Butler said. The government also has made the fourth dose eligible for all aged 18-29 after Australia's immunisation advisory group updated its recommendations. Only people above 30 or the immuno-compromised group were recommended for a fourth dose previously.

☆ Factbox: Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

SWEDENSweden will require travellers from China to show they have tested negative for COVID before they can enter the country, the government said. FRANCEFrance will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result less than 48 hours before departure. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. CANADAAir travellers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said. SPAINSpain will require a negative COVID-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease upon arrival for travellers from China.

☆ Australia to require negative COVID tests for travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Australia said on Sunday that travellers from China will have to provide negative COVID-19 test results from Jan. 5, joining a growing number of nations that have implemented similar restrictions as cases surge in China. Citing a lack of epidemiological information and genomic sequencing data from China, Australian health minister Mark Butler said the government has decided out of an abundance of caution to require visitors to present a negative test taken within 48 hours of their departure. "I want to stress that the government welcomes the resumption of travel between Australia and China... I also want to stress that this is a temporary measure, reflecting the lack of comprehensive information right now about the situation in China," said Butler. read moreReporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here's a list of places imposing rules on travelers from China as Covid surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travelers from China as Covid-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of "zero-Covid" rules. Places imposing curbsUnited StatesThe United States will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travelers from China beginning on Jan. 5. IndiaThe country has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travelers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the health minister said. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesJapan will require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travelers from mainland China. South KoreaSouth Korea will require travelers from China to provide negative Covid test results before departure, South Korea's News1 news agency reported on Friday.

☆ Chinese state media seek to reassure public over COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WUHAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese took to the streets to mark the New Year as authorities and state media sought to reassure the public that the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the country was under control and nearing its peak. China reported one new COVID-19 death in the mainland for Dec. 31, the same as a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday. State media in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China said on Sunday that daily cases peaked at around 60,000 recently, and now stand at around 19,000. On Sunday, Australia and Canada joined the United States and others in requiring travellers from China to provide negative COVID-19 tests when they arrive. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen offered on Sunday to provide China with "necessary assistance" to help it deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases.

☆ Australia recommends against fifth vaccine dose as fresh COVID wave builds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Australian health authorities have recommended against getting a fifth COVID-19 vaccine shot, even as they urged those eligible to sign up for their remaining booster doses as the country's latest COVID wave grows rapidly. "ATAGI has considered international evidence as well as the local data around vaccination numbers, as well as case numbers in the pandemic and decided not to recommend a fifth dose," said Butler. "They noted that severe disease and death during that wave in Singapore was very rare for people who had had at least two doses of vaccine for COVID." New booster recommendations will be made early next year ahead of the southern-hemisphere winter. The company's vaccine for children aged six months to five years will also be approved for use on the severely immunocompromised.

☆ Australia recommends against fifth vaccine dose as fresh Covid wave builds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

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