There seems to be a lot of confusion on what the new “Nicotine Ban” will mean for us Vapers and how it will impact both consumers and businesses alike. This is a quick, easy to understand guide as to what the new regulations will mean for us.
Current Legislation
The Current legislation has been deemed an issue by the Commonwealth of Australia because there is a severe disconnect between Commonwealth Law and State/Territory Laws which creates more confusion than it should. Most Vapers in Australia don’t even understand what the current laws mean, so it’s understandable that the new laws seem like an Iron Fist of doom being dropped on us. For the sake of clarity, I’m not going to go right into what the current laws mean for us, as each state/territory is different, and the purpose of this is to understand the NEW laws, and how they may impact us.
The October 2021 BAN
Contrary to popular belief, the proposed legislation for later this year is indeed not a ban in the sense, but a safety regulation. As of writing this BLOG with the information available, this is how things will supposedly work step by step:
- You will need to have a consultation with a qualified GP in Australia
- It is up to your doctors discretion as to whether they believe that a nicotine prescription is beneficial/necessary for you to either continue with smoking cessation or to start your smoking cessation journey
- Once a prescription is obtained, there are two options
- A licenced Australian pharmaceutical supplier (chemist) can fill your script and supply you with Nicotine E-liquid or a Nicotine Vape subject to your prescription terms.
- You can order Nicotine E-liquid online from overseas as long as it still meets the requirements set out by your prescription.
- It is worth noting that at this stage “There are currently no TGA approved nicotine e-cigarettes on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods...If a doctor determines that a nicotine e-cigarette is suitable for your needs, they may need to apply to the TGA for access to the unapproved product before they give you a prescription...However, your doctor does not need to apply to the TGA for access if you intend to use the Personal Importation Scheme to import a 3 month (or less) supply of nicotine e-cigarettes.”
- Your nicotine will then either be collectable at a pharmacy, or if you have used the Personal Importation Scheme then you should expect a delivery once ordered.
- It is worth noting - The personal importation scheme has been the saving grace for 90% of Vapers that currently vape with liquid nicotine, as that is the pathway that the majority of us have used knowingly or unknowingly in the past.
Although all of this may seem complicated and unnecessary, the reason this is being done is to try and limit access to nicotine containing vape products by youth and non-smokers to limit the supposed “gateway effect” (just because we are mentioning it, doesn’t mean we believe it even exists)
The only added step here for the majority of people is that you will have to pay your GP a visit and get a prescription, so its not really that much of an added complication.
For those in QLD for example nothing is really changing on a legal front, these are the same laws that have applied for years for Queensland based Vapers.
What does this mean for Businesses
For the most part, absoloutley nothing. The only difference is that it will be legally mandated that all nicotine containing products must have a childproof lid, which is not a drama as even though none of the liquids we sell contain nicotine, all of them have childproof lids anyway.
For the day to day running of a vape store like your local Super Vape Store, there will be no visible impact, we will still be stocking the same flavours and devices as before and providing the best customer service!
If you want to read further on this, I would recommend checking out the related section on the TGA’s website below :)
https://www.tga.gov.au/nicotine-e-cigarettes
Dan
- Super Vape Store Nerang