Vape Regulations 2024

Last updated 22 April 2024 (two stars ** indicate new information added/updated).

If you're confused about what's happening this year regarding vape laws and regulations, you aren't the only one. We too are unclear on aspects of the proposed 2024 vape regulations but do our best to communicate what we understand.

We created this page to give you as much information as possible about the proposed 2024 vape regulations, as we understand them, along with links to government, doctor and news articles that have further information. We also have some frequently asked questions at the end of the page.

We keep this page as updated as possible. If you've subscribed to our email list, we'll also let you know when updates occur.

Unchanged regulations

These are ways regulations will not change:

• You have to be at least 18 to purchase ANY vape product.
• You need a prescription to purchase nicotine vaping products.
• Pre-filled disposable vapes with nicotine are (and always have been) illegal to sell in Australia except from a pharmacy.

Proposed changes

The proposed 2024 vaping regulations, introduced in late 2023, include the following changes (as we understand them). Please read the links in the 'More information' section as they are our resources for information.

From 1 January

• Ban on importing disposable vapes (those that are prefilled with e-liquid and are single-use only). Regulations seem to be updated now to say that importing disposable vapes is banned for individuals but businesses can import them if they hold a licence and permit from the Office of Drug Control (ODC).
• We can continue to sell nicotine-free disposable vapes we have in stock after 1 Jan but cannot import any more. When we say nic-free, we mean it. You can request to see the safety reports on our disposable vapes which confirm this.
• All doctor or nurse practitioners can now prescribe nicotine vaping products without acquiring the Therapeutic Goods Administration's (TGA's) approval. It is up to the doctor or nurse to choose whether they provide these prescriptions.

From 1 March

• Ban on importation of all vape products including e-liquid (with or without nicotine) and hardware by individuals, even with a prescription. Businesses will need a licence and permit from ODC to import, and must notify TGA of each product's compliance with their standards (link to current list of notified vapes, mostly submitted by pharmaceutical companies as at Feb 2024, is in the 'More information' section below)
• Vape stores, like us, can continue to sell the nicotine-free vaping products they have in stock after 1 March but cannot import more without licence/permit/notification to TGA. We are unsure how long we'll be allowed to do this.
• Vape products imported from 1 March must meet new device and e-liquid standards, and only be sold in a pharmacy, with prescription.
• All vape products classified as a therapeutic product for the use of smoking cessation or the management of nicotine dependence (formerly classified as smoke product, under same laws as cigarettes).
• Personal importation scheme will end meaning, as an individual, it will be prohibited to order nicotine or nicotine vape products from overseas, even with a prescription (as we were previously allowed to do).
• New device and e-liquid standards by TGA.
• Limits on flavours to mint, menthol and tobacco for vape products imported after 1 March.
• Current vape businesses wishing to remain in the vape industry require an import licence and permit, to become suppliers to pharmacies.

After 1 March

The Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 was introduced to Parliament on 21 March by the Minister for Health and Aged Care which needs to be passed through Parliament (approved by the majority of ministers, we're guessing) in order to enforce the following:

• Retail vape sales ban from 1 July, prohibiting tobacconists, vape stores and convenience stores from selling non-therapeutic vapes.
• Ban on importation, manufacture, supply and commercial possession, of disposable, single-use vapes and non-therapeutic vapes. If the bill passes, illegal vape manufactures and suppliers could face fines up to $2.2 million and seven years jail time.
• Add penalties for importing, manufacturing, supplying or possessing vaping products in a manner contrary to regulations/law, including fines and prison time.

If this bill passes through Parliament, vape stores will have to close to the public from 1 July.

Bill progress

The vaping reform Bill was debated in Parliament with many Ministers speaking both in favour or opposed to the proposed Bill. It is now up to a Senate Committee of Inquiry to recommend if Australia will continue with the proposed Bill and prescription-only model or move to regulation of vapes like cigarettes.

**Submissions to the committee from individuals, doctors, professors, organisations and government departments closed on 12 April, and are now available for you to read. The committee will take these submissions into consideration and provide a report by 8 May with their recommendations on the Vaping Reforms Bill's future.

Have your say

There are actions we can take right now, vapers and non-vapers alike, that may influence Parliament's decision on the new vape regulations:

• **Submissions to the Senate Committee of Inquiry on the Vaping Reforms Bill closed on 12 April. We now wait for their report for recommendations on the Bill's future. Read all published public submissions available on the Parliament of Australia website.
• Contact your local Member of Parliament to express concerns/thoughts on the proposed regulations, especially now that all ministers are reviewing the legislation amendment introduced to Parliament on 21 March.
• Vape petition. The petition to the House of Representatives to review and repeal the proposed 1 March vape import ban (EN5905) closed on 6 March with over 28000 signatures. It has now been presented to the House and is waiting for the Minister who is responsible for the matters raised in the petition to respond. The Parliament of Australia website says Ministers are given 90 days to respond but that it could take longer.

More information

Government organisations

• **Submissions to Vaping Reforms Bill Senate Inquiry
• Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024
• Minister of Health & Aged Care Press Conference, 10 Apr, Health.gov.au
• Second reading speeches (Ministers in Parliament on 27 Mar)
• Stage 2 of vaping reforms introduced to Parliament, 21 Mar, TGA
• Television interview with Minister Butler... ABC News, 21 Mar, Health.gov.au
• Minister for Health and Aged Care press conference, 21 Mar, Health.gov.au
• World leading vaping legislation introduced to Paliament, 21 Mar, Health.gov.au.
• TGA's list of notified vapes
• Reforms to the regulation of vapes (TGA)
• TGA media release on new 2024 vape regulations, 23 Nov 2023
• TGA Vaping Hub includes links to information for patients, compliance/enforcement, retailers etc.
• Importing vaping goods into Australia, ODC
• Radio interview with Minister Butler on ABC Radio, 7 Feb, Health.gov.au
• Podcast interview with Minister Butler & Bension Siebert - The Briefing, 7 Mar, Health.gov.au

Doctors

• Vaping FAQs, Dr Mendelsohn's site.
• Dr Col's Vaping Truths, videos exploring vaping misconceptions, Dr Mendelsohn's site.
• The dilemma facing the NSW Parliament Inquiry into vaping, 14 Apr, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• Please make a submission to the Senate vaping inquiry, 4 Apr, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• The vape debate - a report from Parliament, 30 Mar, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• Victorian Parliament inquiry into vaping. Submissions now due, 19 Mar, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• Youth vaping. Is it time to panic?, 1 Mar, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• The latest regulations on vaping in Australia, 8 Jan, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• The pharmacy nightmare is about to begin for vapers, 15 Feb, blog post by Dr Mendelsohn.
• Dr Colin Mendelsohn's blog

Other organisations

• 'Everyone does it': mythbusting young Australians' overestimation of vaping among peers, 4 Mar, Australian National University.
• Legalise Vaping Australia media releases

News articles

• **Health ministers unite over anti-vaping laws, 20 Apr, 9News YouTube.
• **Government vaping prohibitions are making cigarettes the easier alternative, 19 Apr, Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
• **States back vaping bans, urging federal parliament to act, 19 Apr, ABC News.
• **Government's 'prohibition model hasn't worked' for vaping crackdown, 19 Apr, Sky News Australia.
• The WHO carelessly links vaping to seizures..., 17 Apr, The Vaping Post.
• Pharmacists should be able to dispense nicotine vapes without a prescription. Here's why, 16 Apr, The Conversation.
• Don't hold your breath: methods to stop kids vaping may be making things worse, 15 Apr, Education HQ News.
• Better vape than smoke, and bans don't work, inquiry told, 12 Apr, The Medical Republic.
• Vaping could be key to help people quit smoking, study says, 6 Apr, New York Post article on AOL.com.
• Coalition hints a repealing Labor's prohibition on vapes, 23 Mar, Sky News.
• Australia set to ban non-medical vapes in world's toughest crackdown, 22 Mar, 9 News, msn.com.
• Seven years jail time for unlawful vape manufacturers, suppliers..., 21 Mar, News.com.au.
• National and Greens criticise vaping 'prohibition' as battle looms for Labor, 19 Mar, The Guardian.
• Vape ban will hit struggling Australians the hardest, 14 Mar, Convenience & Impulse Retailing.
• The Australian war on vapes: an absurd rejection of a healthier alternative, 13 Mar, Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
• It just got much harder to stop smoking, 5 Mar, 2GB Sydney.
• Parliament to vote on vape sales ban, 29 Feb, The Saturday Paper.
• A clearer picture of the vape regulations coming ahead for Australia, 23 Nov 2023, The Vaping Post.