What's happening with Vaping in Australia
- Aug 7
- 2 min read
The Australian Government tells us that it wants to protect young people from the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence. Given that vapes attract many young people, we want to ensure that the best prevention strategies are actually being carried out across the country.
What is the history to date?
In 2024, the law changed so that all vapes and vaping products, regardless of whether they contain nicotine or not, can only be sold in a pharmacy for the purpose of helping people quit smoking or manage nicotine dependence. These are called therapeutic vapes.
Currently, it is illegal for any other business, such as tobacconists, vape shops and convenience stores, to sell any type of vape or vape product.
Since 1 October 2024, people 18 years and older can buy therapeutic vapes from participating pharmacies with a nicotine concentration of 20 mg/mL or less without a prescription, subject to certain conditions being met and where state and territory laws allow.
Here are the conditions: People over 18 must talk with the pharmacist before purchasing. This includes:
discussing the product and dosage
discussing other options to quit smoking and/or manage nicotine dependence
providing identification (for proof of age purposes only).
Additionally, only one month’s supply can be purchased over the course of one month.
A cause for concern is that people under 18 years can get a prescription to access therapeutic vapes, where clinically appropriate and where state and territory laws allow, apparently to ensure they get appropriate medical advice and supervision.
People over 18 who need therapeutic vapes with a higher concentration of nicotine than 20 mg/mL also need a prescription, regardless of their age.
Flavours are restricted to mint, menthol and tobacco, and therapeutic vapes must adhere to plain pharmaceutical packaging standards.
Read more about the changes to the regulation of vapes.
Australia’s Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 started from 1 April 2024. The same bans that apply to tobacco advertising and sponsorship will apply to vapes.
