{"id":295545,"date":"2025-11-19T20:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295545\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:28:14","slug":"nangs-to-be-seized-under-new-queensland-laws-cracking-down-on-sale-of-illegal-tobacco-and-nicotine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295545\/","title":{"rendered":"Nangs to be seized under new Queensland laws cracking down on sale of illegal tobacco and nicotine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities will have the power to seize nangs found alongside illicit tobacco or nicotine products in Queensland, under new laws aimed at cracking down on the “rising scourge”.<\/p>\n

Nitrous oxide bulbs and canisters, known colloquially as nangs, can lead to paralysis when consumed in large quantities over an extended period of time<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nitrous oxide has been linked to paralysis and death. We got it delivered to our door<\/a><\/p>\n

At first glance, it would be easy to mistake for an Uber Eats delivery.\u00a0The driver isn’t here to drop off food, though \u2014 it’s a 3.3 litre canister of nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n

Under Australian consumer law, the sale of nitrous oxide for legitimate purposes, such as whipping cream, is legal.<\/p>\n

Cheap and readily available, the gas was found by the 2021 Global Drug Survey to be the 13th most popular recreational drug in the world.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the amendments to the bill would address the “rising scourge” of nangs and close “another loophole” exploited for profit.<\/p>\n

“These products are increasingly sold using and in the same illicit networks that traffic illegal vapes and tobacco,” he said.\"A<\/p>\n

The sale of nitrous oxide for legitimate purposes, such as whipping cream, is legal. (ABC News: Lewi Hirvela)<\/p>\n

Mr Nicholls thanked Labor’s Joe Kelly for raising his concerns on behalf of a family in the Greenslopes electorate, who had a child experiencing the challenges of nitrous oxide addiction.<\/p>\n

“Their child has suffered physical and mental health challenges as a result of nang abuse \u2026 leading to social problems, antisocial behaviour and major challenges finishing school and transitioning into further study,” he told parliament.<\/p>\n

“These challenges highlight just how dangerous the misuse of nitrous oxide and the ready prevalence of these nangs really are.”Attacking illegal trade ‘from every angle’<\/p>\n

Under the new laws passed in state parliament, it will also be a criminal offence for a commercial landlord to knowingly allow a tenant to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes.<\/p>\n

Queensland Health will now have the power to close a business on the spot for up to three months if it is supplying illegal tobacco or nicotine products.<\/p>\n

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Mr Nicholls said nearly 500,000 vapes, over 57 million illicit cigarettes, more than seven tonnes of illicit loose tobacco, and 405,000 nicotine pouches had been seized in the government’s first year in office.<\/p>\n

He said the results show “clearly why these reforms are needed”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

It will also be a criminal offence for a commercial landlord to knowingly allow a tenant to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)<\/p>\n

“The illicit tobacco and vaping market has become a lucrative revenue stream for organised crime groups,” he said in Parliament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“Communities are seeing the consequences in the form of firebombings, assaults, and a growing disregard for the rule of law connected with the trade.”\"A<\/p>\n

A crime scene was declared after a Browns Plains tobacconist was set alight on May 30.<\/p>\n

Under the new laws, a landlord who knowingly permits their premises to be used for the supply or possession of illicit tobacco or illicit nicotine products could face a maximum penalty of a $161,300 fine and one year in jail.<\/p>\n

“The bill attacks the illicit trade from every angle by cutting off profits, closing premises, exposing complicit landlords and removing the financial rewards that sustain this illegal industry,” Mr Nicholls said.<\/p>\n

\"Large<\/p>\n

Big clumps of raw tobacco, known as chop chop, are sometimes stuffed into moving bags. (Supplied: Queensland Police Service)<\/p>\n

‘Explosion’ and ‘out of control’<\/p>\n

The Australian Association of Convenience Stores said the reforms were urgently needed to restore fairness to the retail industry.<\/p>\n

“The explosion of the black market has seen organised crime groups embed themselves in local retail strips,” the peak body for the convenience industry said in its submission on the bill.<\/p>\n

“Every week, law abiding retailers are being undercut, staff are being threatened, and communities are left exposed while criminals profit big.”<\/p>\n

Tobacco Station Group, which represents more than 540 franchises nationally, said the illicit nicotine market in Queensland was “out of control”.<\/p>\n

The figures behind Australia’s illicit tobacco trade<\/a><\/p>\n

The ABC, via interviews, reviews of court records and attending dozens of illegal stores, can reveal new details and allegations about the trade.<\/p>\n

In its submission on the bill, it stated that it was “broadly supportive of stronger enforcement” but urged the government to ensure that penalties were directed at illicit operators and unlicensed stores, rather than at compliant businesses and landlords.<\/p>\n

Shadow Health Minister Mark Bailey told parliament Labor supported the changes, with illicit tobacco and nicotine products “doing real damage to the health of Queenslanders”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Bailey said the bill would not solve every problem in the illegal vape and tobacco industry, but that it was a “serious step forward”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities will have the power to seize nangs found alongside illicit tobacco or nicotine products in Queensland, under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,169525,169526,114663,94,701,15878,8920,71583,992,21334],"class_list":["post-295545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-illegal-cigarettes","tag-nangs","tag-nitrous-oxide","tag-qld","tag-queensland","tag-queensland-government","tag-queensland-health","tag-queensland-parliament","tag-tim-nicholls","tag-vapes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}