Australia Bans Vape Sales Outside Pharmacies

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Facts

• Australia has banned the production, sale, supply, and commercial possession of disposable and non-therapeutic vapes — with or without nicotine content.¹
• Starting Monday (July 1), only pharmacies will be allowed to sell vapes to children and adults with a doctor’s prescription to buy a therapeutic vape.²
• However, beginning in October, only consumers under 18 will need a valid prescription to buy vapes. Adults would be allowed to purchase them over the counter after consulting the pharmacist.³
• While the government has limited the flavors to choose from to mint, menthol, and tobacco, the maximum nicotine concentration limit is set at 100 mg/mL.¹
• Multiple pharmacy chains have reportedly rejected the ban and indicated they will not stock vapes altogether until the scheduled loosening of restrictions for adults is rolled back.⁴
• In January, Canberra banned imports of all disposable vapes and, in March, made it illegal to import all vaping hardware unless importers have a license and permit.⁵

Sources: ¹Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), ²Guardian, ³Reuters, ⁴Tobaccoreporter and ⁵Abc.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Australian Medical Association. Vaping is increasingly becoming a gateway for youngsters to cigarettes. Besides highly addictive nicotine, vapes contain dangerous substances like diacetyl, formaldehyde, and acrolein, which are highly harmful to the lungs and heart. Consumers must be protected from the tobacco industry's misleading promotion of vapes as being safe.
• Narrative B, as provided by Sydney Criminal Lawyers. This vaping ban is misguided and overly harsh. Unlike smoking, vaping — an alternative believed to be less harmful — is heavily demonized. While countries like New Zealand embrace vaping as a safer alternative to smoking, Australia's approach — even with its October loosening — merely drives the market underground, making it harder to control and pushing people toward illegal purchases.

Predictions