Market and legal data for the vapour sector in Australia

1st October 2024: Australia: Starting today, over-18s will not require a prescription for vaping products with a concentration of less than 20 mg/ml. Sale of these products will still be limited to pharmacies, and only one month’s supply can be purchased over the course of one month. Vaping products with a higher nicotine concentration will remain subject to prescription. The state of Tasmania, however, aims to maintain the prescription requirement, as announced by the state’s director of public health Mark Veitch. Tasmania is currently in the process of adopting a bill that, if passed, will restrict vaping product sales to over-18s with a prescription.
17th September 2024: Australia: The government of Queensland has amended the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 in order to toughen the state’s sanctions for selling illegal vaping products, press reports. Under the amended act, retailers may face up to two years in prison and fines of up to AUD1.6m (USD1.1m). The act also establishes the possibility of closing a shop for up to six months if the retailer continues to sell illicit vaping products. From 1st July, e-cig products can only be sold at pharmacies upon prescription. From 1st October, prescriptions will no longer be necessary but e-cig sales will still remain restricted to pharmacies.
29th August 2024: Australia: A legislation establishing penalties for the illegal sale of vaping and tobacco products has been introduced by the South Australian government. The bill aims to sanction with severe penalties the supply of vaping products and tobacco heating devices in places other than pharmacies as well as their sale to under-18s. It also aims to ban nicotine pouches. If the legislation is eventually passed, South Australia will become the state with the toughest penalties on illicit vaping and novel products in the country. Additionally, the government is investing AUD16m (USD11m) in an inspection task force within Consumer and Business Services to crack down on illegal trade of those products.
26th June 2024: Australia: The Senate, due to an agreement between the government and the Greens, has voted to ease the planned restrictions around accessing vaping products. The government decided earlier in the year to fully restrict their sale to pharmacies upon prescription from July 2024. However, it has now agreed with the Greens that vaping products will not be subject to prescription requirements, although their sale will still be limited to pharmacies, as a Schedule 3 medicine, and they will be required to comply with neutral packaging requirements. Minister of health Mark Butler said the government’s aim is to “return vapes to their original intention and that is: a therapeutic product”. The changes will come into force in October 2024.
10th June 2024: Australia: Mark Butler, the minister of health, has launched an advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness about the effects of vaping. The campaign will be run through media platforms, such as TikTok and Spotify, and will focus on four groups: young people, adults who vape, adults who smoke and Indigenous adult smokers. Other measures connected to the campaign include the development of an online cessation hub and an app (My QuitBuddy) to provide support and the regular issuance of updated clinical guidance for health practitioners.
21st March 2024: Australia: Today, the Australian government introduced a bill amending the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 in order to implement the second stage of the vaping reform measures. The Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 aims to regulate the importation, domestic manufacture, supply, possession and advertisement of all vapes under the Therapeutic Goods Act. It bans the manufacture of any non-therapeutic vaping product, as well as the sale of any such product that was imported before March 2024 and is still being sold. It also establishes sanctions for the possession of non-therapeutic vaping products, with an exception for personal use.
11th January 2024: Australia: Several anti-vaping and health organisations have launched, alongside the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), an educational programme to inform children and teenagers about the effects of vaping. The CEO of health foundation VicHealth, Sandro Demaio, said the programme will play a “vital role in reducing and preventing vaping among young people”.
8th January 2024: Australia: A ban on the import of disposable vaping products, regardless of their nicotine content, entered into force on 1st January 2024. Disposable vapes that were imported before this date can still be sold if they meet Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requirements and are sold in pharmacies under prescription. Nicotine-free vapes that were imported prior to that date can also continue to be sold. This means that any disposables that are currently on the market can be sold, but the government will enact a regulation prohibiting their sale in early 2024.
28th November 2023: Australia: Minister for health and aged care Mark Butler has announced in a press conference that disposable vaping products will be banned from 1st January 2024, among other measures. From 1st March 2024, the import of any kind of vape, regardless of its nicotine content, will be banned, unless authorised by the Office of Drug Protection on approval with the conditions set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Those conditions will include plain packaging and prohibition of flavours. Although no bill has been made public yet, Butler has announced that it will be introduced soon.
10th July 2023: Australia: Philip Morris International (PMI) is making arrangements with several Australian pharmacies for the supply of its Veev vaping products below cost, press reports. Nicotine-containing vaping products can currently only be sold at pharmacies and under prescription in the country. Pharmacists have been offered PMI products at a 80% margin if they sign a supply agreement directly with the tobacco company, and as long as they do not sell a packet of two Veev nicotine pods for more than $14.90 or devices for more than $19.90. University of Sydney emeritus professor of public health and tobacco control, Simon Chapman, has accused PMI of “playing a long game here to wreck the prescription access model by disrupting the competition”.
25th May 2023: Australia: The government of Queensland has passed legislation to strengthen the state’s anti-smoking and illicit tobacco laws and their enforcement. The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Amendment Bill 2023 introduces a licensing scheme for the sale of tobacco, expands the list of non-vaping areas and imposes tougher restrictions on vape sales at licensed venues. A parliamentary inquiry into vaping and e-cigarettes, with a focus on children and teenagers, will also shortly begin, concluding with a Health and Environment Committee report to be made to the Legislative Assembly by 31st August.
23rd May 2023: Australia: The head of the Border Force, Michael Outram, has warned that government plans to prohibit the import of vaping products and make them subject to prescription, regardless of their nicotine content, will not be enough to combat the black market, press reports. “A border ban by itself may be partly effective, but it won’t be fully effective to solve the problem,” he said.

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