Australia Restricts E-Cigarette Sales to Pharmacies

And buyers will need a prescription to purchase vape products.

July 01, 2024

Australia introduced some of the world’s toughest anti-vaping laws, which now restrict the sale of vaping products to pharmacies only, CNN reported. Beginning today, users will need to present a doctor’s prescription to a pharmacist to buy vapes, and the choice will be limited to three flavors: mint, menthol, and tobacco.

However, the restrictions will ease later in the year due to a political deal that was made to ensure the law was passed: Beginning in October, only minors under 18 will need a prescription.

According to CNN, while adults will then be able to buy e-cigarettes in pharmacies without a prescription, finding the devices may be difficult as some pharmacy chains stated that they refuse to stock them.

The Australian Association of Convenience Stores stated that this latest reform is “dysfunctional policy,” and Theo Foukkare, CEO of the AACS, said he believed the government’s new laws would create “an out-of-control black market.”

The AACS stated that it supports a “common-sense” approach proposed by the Coalition for a regulated, controlled vaping model, similar to the laws in place for tobacco. This proposed alternate policy would be a tax-and-regulate setup that would make vapes available from places like convenience stores and service stations.

Foukkare said, “AACS has long advocated for a tightly regulated and strictly controlled retail licensing policy framework for vaping products that is backed by significant enforcement from the border all the way through to the illegal storefronts. A policy with the primary objective of reducing youth access, providing regulated products to consenting adults, and eliminating the black market controlled by bad actors.”

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