Time left for Australia vape buyers is not much in 2021

Australia will level up the difficulty to purchase vapes from China in October 2021. According to news from December 2020, Australians will need a doctor’s prescription to import liquid nicotine from October 2021 under changes expected to affect hundreds of thousands of vapers.

If you’re located in Australia, you’d better stock up enough vapes before the date, in case it gets too hard importing vapes after October 2021.

Key points

• A prescription will also be required to access nicotine e-cigarettes from October 2021

• Child-resistant closures for liquid nicotine will also be mandatory

• The Federal Health Minister says the decision will help to prevent teenagers who were unlikely to take up smoking from turning to vaping instead

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has decided that from October 1, 2021 a prescription will also be required to access nicotine e-cigarettes, while child-resistant closures for liquid nicotine will be mandatory.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the decision would help to prevent teenagers who were unlikely to take up smoking from turning to vaping instead, as well as clarifying the law for people who imported vaping products.

“Nicotine containing e-cigarettes are currently illegal to sell in every state and territory and possession in all jurisdictions (except South Australia) is also illegal without a valid medical prescription,” he said.

“That means that there is a current situation that legally imported materials are then illegally possessed under state law.

“This decision will both reduce the risk of an onramp for teenagers… while rectifying the issue of legal importation but illegal possession.”

Changes resisted by vapers

According to the latest national drugs survey, more than 500,000 Australians are vapers and 2.4 million people have tried it at some point.

Some people who vape have credited it with helping them to quit smoking, and previously warned forcing users to get a doctor’s prescription could encourage them to return to regular cigarettes instead.

They have also expressed concerns that only 14 doctors across the country are currently registered to prescribe liquid nicotine.

Mr Hunt said more doctors could register with the TGA to become an “authorised prescriber”.

“It is important to note that any doctor may currently prescribe nicotine-containing e-cigarettes that can be used by consumers for personal importation,” he said.

“This is not widely understood, and it is an important matter of public information that over 30,000 GPs may currently, and in the future, prescribe nicotine-based e-cigarettes for smoking cessation.”