Australians restrict e-cigarette sales to pharmacies—and only with a prescription

Effective immediately, to revolutionize bans the supply, manufacture, import or sale of vaping devices outside of a pharmacy in Australia. The ban applies to all vaping devices regardless of whether they contain nicotine.

Under the new rules, Australians will also need a prescription from their GP to buy the device. They will be limited to three flavours at pharmacies: mint, tobacco and menthol, and will need to discuss it with a pharmacist before buying.

The nicotine levels in these e-cigarettes will be controlled and their packaging will be “pharmaceutical-like,” according to billHealth Minister Mark Butler said in a statement the law aims to tackle the “epidemic” of recreational vaping.

“This is a threat to public health, particularly for children and young people,” Butler said. About 22% of Australians aged 18 to 24 reported using an e-cigarette or vaping device at least once, according to government figures. data last year showed. However, at least 61% of e-cigarette smokers in the same age group have expressed a desire to quit, according to Related Press.

The health department said in a statement after the law passed that it “will return e-cigarettes and vaping to their original purpose: a treatment for smoking cessation.”

Why Australia’s approach is unique

Several countries have recently moved to regulate their e-cigarette markets. As many as 121 countries or territories regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems, according to a 2023 report. WHO report. Of those countries, 33 have outright banned the sale or import of e-cigarettes, although e-cigarettes black market thrive in some of these countries, including India and Türkiye.

Australia’s prescription model is unique, but many of its other reforms have been copied by other wealthy nations. Australia banned disposable e-cigarettes on January 1, and the UK quickly followed suit, then went one step further, banning tobacco sales to anyone born in 2009 or later in a bid to create a “smoke-free generation.”

In the United States, regulations have moved much more slowly. The FDA only allows 27 types of cigarettes.– and menthol-flavored e-cigarette products and devices, mainly from popular brands including NJOY and Vuse. Notably, other brands such as Juul, Lost Mary and Elf Bar are not on the list and these e-cigarettes continue to be sold illegally. Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers have also ignored e-cigarette restrictions, causing millions Importing flavored disposable e-cigarettes into the US market.

Last month, US politicians criticized top public health officials for failing to enforce their own laws during a contentious hearing on the issue of youth use of e-cigarettes.

“You are failing!” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a tense exchange with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Arun Rao, representing the Justice Department. During the meeting, the officials pledged to move more quickly on enforcement.

Loopholes and problems in the law

While Australia may be touting a “world-leading” reform to restrict e-cigarettes, its new laws are riddled with existing loopholes. Subject to a last minute amendmentrestrictions will soon be loosened a bit. Starting in October, adults over 18 will no longer need a prescription, but will have to “talk” to a pharmacist before buying over-the-counter e-cigarettes. Children under 18 will still need a prescription to buy e-cigarettes.

Additionally, e-cigarettes purchased in Australia can have a nicotine concentration of no more than 20 mg/ml, a limit applied by many other countries. In the United States, e-cigarettes have twice the nicotine content. market dominanceAccording to Truth Initiative, an anti-smoking nonprofit.

A previous version of Australian law required a prescription to buy e-cigarettes, which could have been sold more widely—but retailers have can circumvent the law by pretending that their e-cigarettes do not contain nicotine. Young people have found it easy to get these electronic cigarettes.

But now that it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes outside of pharmacies, the law effectively shifts the burden of managing the nation’s e-cigarette supply from tobacco stores and retailers to pharmacists.

The Australian Pharmacists Association, which represents pharmacy owners nationwide, protest bill, saying they do not want to sell “highly addictive” e-cigarettes without a prescription.

“The Senate’s expectation that community pharmacies will become e-cigarette retailers and e-cigarette waste collectors is outrageous,” the association said in a statement.

Now, each pharmacy will decide for itself whether to sell vaping products. Pharmacists will have to verify the age of the buyer, provide advice on quitting smoking and ensure they don’t buy more than a month’s supply. It’s not yet clear what that supply will be or how it will be measured.

While illegal e-cigarette sellers may pepper up to seven years in prison for violating the new provisions, the law does not criminalize the possession of vapes for personal use, including illegal vapes. A person can possess up to nine vapes at a time, according to GuardThere will be a 12-month amnesty period during which people who own more than nine e-cigarettes can surrender or dispose of their remaining e-cigarettes.

Michael Bonning, a spokesman for the Australian Medical Association, the nation’s top doctors’ group, said the new laws would make a “major change in how accessible e-cigarettes are”.

“These are world-leading reforms that doctors and all health professionals have been pushing for,” Bonning told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

It remains unclear, however, how the retail ban will be enforced. As of Monday, some convenience stores and tobacco shops continued to sell their flavored nicotine products with ease, Guard reported.

“There is no ban. We are still selling,” a cashier at a convenience store in suburban Melbourne told Guard.