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Health ministers from around the country have backed the federal government's proposed vaping bans, arguing e-cigarettes are being used as a tool to recruit new smokers.
The government is negotiating a bill in parliament to ban the import, manufacture and sale of vapes outside of pharmacies, aiming to have the new laws in place by July 1.
State and territory ministers have now issued a joint statement calling on the parliament to pass the new laws, saying they won't "stand by and let our kids get hooked on nicotine".
The joint statement suggests that rather than helping smokers kick the habit, they are creating an entirely new generation of nicotine users.
"If vapes are therapeutic goods then it is entirely appropriate that Australia should regulate them as therapeutic goods, instead of allowing them to be sold alongside chocolate bars in convenience stores, often down the road from schools," it said.
"It's now clear vapes are being used to recruit a new generation to nicotine addiction, and it's working."
But the laws could face a difficult path through parliament.
The Coalition is yet to adopt a formal position, but some MPs — particularly within the Nationals — have aired significant concerns.
And the Greens have other questions, including whether "prohibition" is the best approach, and whether vapers will be able to access doctors to get a prescription.
Health Minister Mark Butler said vapes are being marketed directly at young people, and a radically different approach is needed.
And he pushed back on the idea the vaping laws are an outright ban on vapes.
"This is not prohibition," he said.
"This was presented as a therapeutic good, and it should be regulated as such.
"So it should be available only on prescription, and only through a pharmacy."
The new laws follow up on import restrictions introduced earlier this year which aimed to block cheap disposable nicotine vapes from entering the country.
The government says hundreds of thousands of vapes have been blocked at the border.
But vapes are hard to detect, given they are small and odourless.
The government's planned additional bill would go further, targeting not just disposable vapes but any "non-therapeutic vapes" from entering the country or being manufactured in Australia.
And it would restrict the commercial possession and sale of vapes.
Vapes would only be available with a prescription and sold through a pharmacy, with flavours limited to mint, menthol and tobacco.
The federal government describes its bill as "world-leading" but is yet to convince some within parliament to get behind it.
The Nationals have long advocated an approach to vaping modelled on the regulations applied to cigarettes or alcohol.
They argue vapes should be tightly controlled and banned for minors like those other products, but widely available to adults in convenience stores and supermarkets.
The Greens are also yet to take a position on the bill, which is currently before a Senate committee.
They've argued that while the current situation is deeply problematic, there are questions about the practicalities of a prescription-based model.
And some crossbenchers have questions too — with independent senator Tammy Tyrell flagging she's unlikely to back it, arguing they are too restrictive on those trying to quit smoking.
"No one wants kids to have access to vapes. I certainly don't. We already have laws in place to stop kids accessing cigarettes and alcohol — so why aren't we doing that for vapes too?" she said.
"I'm not a fan of outright banning anything. I think that, as adults, we have the right to make choices for ourselves."