March 21 - Australian party The Nationals wants to relax Australia's rules on nicotine e-cigarettes to be offered as a tool to help adults quit smoking, while tightening rules on the use of highly addictive products by young people.

The formal position taken by The Nationals runs counter to Australia's current approach to health, which only allows access to nicotine e-cigarettes by prescription.

Under The Nationals' proposed changes, the prescription-only model would be abandoned in favor of a regulatory system in which nicotine e-cigarettes could be purchased like cigarettes.

Retailers will need licenses to sell products, and heavy fines will be imposed on those who sell to minors.

Certain flavors will be banned, and health warnings will be added to labels.

The approach bears similarities to that taken in New Zealand, where legal use of nicotine e-cigarettes is far more widespread than in Australia.

The Nationals' leader, David Littleproud, said the current rules had clearly failed to deter young people from becoming addicted to e-cigarettes.

'We have to be honest,' he said. 'We've tried, and with a genuine intention to solve this problem, and it hasn't worked.'

"So what we have to do is be constructive, but agile enough to understand that we need better regulation."

Companies such as British American Tobacco, the main maker of e-cigarettes, have similarly pushed for nicotine e-cigarettes to be regulated like cigarettes, arguing that this is the best way to tackle the black market.

A major shift in the current approach

The Nationals' proposed changes would mark a firm shift in Australia's current attitude towards e-cigarettes.

The federal government has tried to tightly regulate nicotine e-cigarettes, which are available only through prescriptions written specifically for smoking cessation purposes.

But despite these regulations, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are still widely available illegally and are widely used by people under the age of 18.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has been working on possible changes to the law on e-cigarettes to tighten rules on imports.

Health Minister Mark Butler has said he intends to crack down hard on the e-cigarette industry, including a stronger border presence and increased police action.

Health groups such as the Cancer Council have urged the government to strengthen existing laws and strengthen enforcement, including a ban on the sale of non-nicotine e-cigarettes, which are often found to contain nicotine.

Mr Littleproud said the best way to prevent young people from vaping was to have rules that were simpler and easier to enforce.

"We all come here with sincere intentions, but you also have to come here with practical reality." 'he said.

"What's happening is that kids are being exposed to this drug. The prescribing rules are not working."

"If you want to regulate this, the best way to regulate it is to simplify the regulations so that they are in line with other regulations like cigarettes, point of sale, packaging, taste, and make sure that only people over the age of 18 have access to these things."

Under The Nationals' proposal, any revenue generated through a tax on e-cigarettes would go to regional health care.