A Deep Dive into Australia’s Failing 2024 Vape Prescription Model

When it comes to tobacco harm reduction, Australia is increasingly becoming an outlier. While countries like New Zealand and the UK are seeing strong public health gains through progressive vaping policies, Australia continues to double down on a prescription-only model that’s not only ineffective – but arguably making things worse.

In 2024, Australia implemented heavy vape laws under the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Act 2024, prohibiting the importation and sale of vapes outside of pharmaceutical prescriptions in the aim of tackling and preventing under-age use.

Brief timeline of new vape laws

1 January: Importation of disposable vapes banned, with limited exceptions.

1 March: Importation of all non-therapeutic vapes prohibited, even with a prescription. Personal Importation Scheme for vapes was closed.

1 July: The Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Act 2024 commenced, introducing a unified national framework for regulating vaping products.

Key provisions included:

• Prohibition of non-pharmacy retailers from selling any type of vape, including any existing stock.
• Requirement for prescriptions to purchase nicotine or zero-nicotine containing vapes.
• Restriction of flavours to menthol, mint, and tobacco.
• Strict advertising bans across all media platforms.
• Introduction of new criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance.

1 October: Adults aged 18 and over allowed to purchase therapeutic vapes containing nicotine concentrations of 20mg/ml or less from pharmacies without prescription, provided a pharmacist assessed the need. Packaging adhered to plain pharmaceutical standards.

Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) which are currently registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) are not affected by the reforms, including:

• Patches
• Lozenges
• Inhalers
• Mouth sprays
• Chews
• Gums

These products are available without prescription from pharmacies and some retail outlets.

Aussie Vapers Disapprove

Unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of frustration and disapproval over these changes. In June 2024, The Guardian (Australia) spoke to some vapers to find out how they feel, and their stance on the new laws.

Wishing to remain anonymous, one individual who had been vaping for 15 years to kick his 15-year, two-pack-a-day cigarette addiction, called the government decision, ‘infantilising, contradictory and a backwards step’.

“Vaping is one of my greatest passions, I’m like a wine connoisseur or chef. And these changes make me angry and disheartened. I am 52 years old and can’t make a mature and informed decision on how I take nicotine. Yet the government allows cigarettes, alcohol, sugary products, gambling and other harmful activities to take place unfettered.”

Discussing the flavour restrictions, he said that he “didn’t like the flavour” of the allowed tobacco, mint and menthol flavours and that these changes would force him to obtain his required products from the black market.

“Firstly, it doesn’t really taste like tobacco. It’s a terrible translation of what tobacco tastes like. I like the vape flavours, they are unfairly portrayed as being aimed at children but the truth is most adults love the assortment of flavours. I won’t go back to cigarettes, but some of my friends who converted to vaping have already started to smoke again.”

Another individual, aged 39, used vaping to break his cigarette addiction which he picked up at just 13 years old. He told The Guardian that he knows of “at least six shops” nearby that stock illegal tobacco, and is confident that they will also stock illegal vapes.

“If the government gives me no choice in what I vape and when, then why would I pay them taxes in the long run? I tried everything under the sun, and then I found vaping. It was the only thing that helped me move away from smoking, plus it helps me with my mental health as well.”

In regards to the flavour restrictions, he said, “adults have taste buds too. Not everyone likes mint or tobacco flavours…they are just pushing so many people back on to cigarettes, it’s ridiculous.”

Harmful Misinformation Pushed the Ban

During an interview on Sky News Australia in March 2024, Health Minister Mark Butler made some alarming remarks regarding vapes.

“When these products were first brought to Australia and other countries around the world, they were presented as a therapeutic good that would help hardened smokers kick the habit, usually smokers that had been smoking for decades.

“They were not presented to use as a recreational product that would be widely available to the community, particularly not one that would be targeted and marketed directly at our kids and young people. But that’s what they’ve become, you just have to look at the products – they’re bubblegum flavoured, they’re brightly coloured, they’re disguised as highlighter pens.

“And you also just have to look at where vape stores are setting up, 9 out of 10 of them are set up within walking distance of schools because those are the target market.”

While it’s true that some vape shops are located near schools, that doesn’t automatically imply youth are being targeted. In many small towns and urban areas, both schools and commercial businesses are centrally located and share the same walkable zones. Factors like zoning laws, affordable rent, and proximity to busy foot traffic are all more plausible explanations for this clustering than a deliberate attempt to target minors.

To counter this idea that vape shops are targeting youth, governments and officials need to focus on what’s already in place, enforce it consistently, and communicate it clearly. When the public sees real effort and accountability, the conspiracy narratives lose power.

There are currently strict regulations in place to prevent underage sales: retailers are legally required to verify ID and encouraged to adopt age verification policies, e.g. the Challenge 25 scheme. Clear signage regarding age policies should be displayed both outside and in-store to reinforce this. Those caught selling to minors face heavy fines or loss of licence.

It’s important to address concerns with facts, not assumptions like Butler’s, and recognise the real efforts being made to keep vaping products out of the hands of minors whilst protecting adult vapers’ freedom and choice over their own health and smoking cessation efforts.

Have the Regulations Worked?

Independent Australian advocacy movement, A.L.I.V.E (Australia, Let’s Improve Vaping Education), are a community committed to advocacy, education, and support for vaping, championing policies that uphold the right to harm reduction and the freedom to become – and stay – smoke-free.

In a recent survey, A.L.I.V.E revealed that out of 332 Australian pharmacies, the vast majority declined to participate in the pharmacy-only vaping model, exposing the governments’ failure.

Key findings from the survey highlighted that:

• 248 (74.7%) pharmacies do not stock any vaping products
• Of these, only 44 (18%) are willing to order products on request
• Only 84 (26%) pharmacies currently have any vaping products available in-store
• Among those stocking products, the range is minimal – only 40 listings in total, covering a handful of brands
• 45% of the available products are supplied by Big Tobacco companies

The survey noted four product brands which these pharmacies stocked, including: NicoVape, Veev, Wild By Instinct, and Relex, with Veev dominating the market.

NicoVape, made by Australian-owned Liber Pharmaceuticals, focuses solely on smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction, with no ties to the tobacco industry. In contrast, Veev is produced by Philip Morris International, a major tobacco company. Tobacco-affiliated vape products like Veev undermine harm reduction efforts, as their profits still support the industry responsible for smoking-related harm.

Pippa Starr, Director of A.L.I.V.E and leading tobacco harm reduction advocate, said: “The government has locked safer alternatives behind pharmacy counters, then failed to ensure those counters are open. It’s smokers and ex-smokers who are paying the price.”

Starr added, “pharmacies are sending a clear message: they don’t want to be a part of this model. But instead of fixing the system, the government is doubling down. We need immediate reform – starting with removing the Pharmacy Only requirement and allowing licensed vape retailers to meet demand responsibly.”

This is not a harm reduction strategy – it’s a policy failure.

Some individuals who completed the pharmacy survey commented:

• “Three said they could order it in but none has stock. Not exactly convenient.”
• “Asked if they sold nicotine vapes – the pharmacist said, “We don’t support that here.”
• “One hadn’t even heard of the prescription model. Still thought it was illegal.”

In another survey on pharmacies, conducted by physician and smoking cessation expert Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, it was revealed that the new regulations have been greatly ineffective in ensuring that low-nicotine vapes are made available without prescription.

Carried out in 305 pharmacies, across all Australian states – both urban and rural areas – in October 2024, the findings revealed that 99% didn’t have any low nicotine (≤20mg/ml) vapes available for walk-in customer. Only 6 (2%) of these pharmacies said that they would order the products upon request. This highlighted broad refusal to take part in the pharmacy model, despite repeated assurance from Health Minister, Mark Butler.

Dr. Mendelsohn pointed out that the new pharmacy model struggled at the beginning “due to a lack of consultation with the pharmacy industry and strong opposition from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.” As a result, numerous pharmacies declined to join the initiative.

In his blog, Dr. Mendelsohn concluded that with the prescription model falling short in meeting the needs of adult vapers and driving the growth of a black market supplying vapes to youth, just after two weeks in, the pharmacy-only approach is also failing Australia’s 1.7 million adult vapers, leaving most without legal access. As a result of this, many may relapse to smoking, while others turn to unregulated products and rely on the black market.

Australia vs New Zealand Regulatory Approach

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction (CAPHRA) has drawn attention to findings from a recent study. Published in Addiction, the study, titled, “Do the differing vaping and smoking trends in Australia and New Zealand reflect different regulatory policies?”, was conducted by researchers from both countries to compare daily smoking and vaping trends between 2016 and 2023.

According to the findings, New Zealand’s adult daily smoking rate declined at double the rate of Australia’s – dropping almost 10% annually (from 14.5% to 6.8%) compared to Australia’s 5% (from 12.3% to 8.3%). This decline closely mirrored the vaping adoption rates in the neighbouring countries.

Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA stated:

“This study provides compelling evidence that New Zealand’s harm reduction approach to vaping is far more effective at reducing smoking rates than Australia’s overly restrictive policies.

“It’s a clear signal that governments must embrace pragmatic regulations that allow adult smokers access to safer alternatives like vaping.”

The study also revealed:

• Smoking rates in New Zealand’s lowest socioeconomic communities dropped three times faster compared to Australia’s (12% vs 4% per year).
• Among Māori populations, smoking declined nearly three times faster than among Australia’s Indigenous population (16% vs 6% per year from 2019-2023).
• Young adults, who also had the highest vaping rates, experienced the steepest declines in smoking in both countries.
• Although youth vaping initially rose faster in New Zealand, it began to level out after the implementation of regulations in 2021 and is now decreasing (8.7% in 2024).
• Australia faces a widespread and often violent black market for vaping products, whereas New Zealand shows little evidence of illicit trade.

CAPHRA stresses that the study reinforces a key point: increasing access to safer nicotine alternatives can (and has) reduce smoking rates – unlike restrictive policies, which fall short.

Loucas concluded, “This Addiction study confirms that embracing safer nicotine products is the right approach to saving lives. We urge countries across the Asia Pacific region to take note of New Zealand’s success and adopt similar evidence-based policies. The health of millions depends on it.”

Dr. Mendelsohn, Co-author of the study commented: “If vaping is the key driver of this success, as appears likely, then Australia’s current approach isn’t just failing, it’s costing lives.”

Mendelsohn concluded that, “The solution isn’t to ban vaping or try to restrict it into obscurity. It’s to regulate it sensibly – encouraging smokers to switch while implementing reasonable safeguards to protect youth. New Zealand has shown us what works – it’s time we paid attention.”

Experts and Advocates Discuss

In their ‘Vaping Unplugged’ podcast, in which they discuss current affairs about tobacco harm reduction and vaping with vaping activists, public health experts and decision makers worldwide, Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) sat down with some guests to discuss Australia’s vaping laws.

Prior to the implemented vape ban in Australia, Landl sat down with Hollie Hughes, Liberal Senator for New South Wales, to discuss how the prescription model came to be, why it’s failing and what a better path forward could look like.

It turns out that this flawed approach started within Hughes’ own party. The prescription-only model was introduced by the then Health Minister Greg Hunt, whom Hughes described as being on “a very big crusade” against vaping. She admitted bluntly: “It makes no sense”. Despite its intentions, the model has been overwhelmingly rejected by those it was meant to serve.

Hughes, who was elected as Chair of Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction in 2020, said, “it’s estimated that about 6% of people that vape have a prescription, it hasn’t worked at all. We know it’s the only place in the world, Australia, that has this prescription model, yet for some reason the government is holding onto it and in fact doubling down in it.”

The failure of the model isn’t just theoretical – it’s visible in Australia’s streets. According to Hughes, the black market for vapes has exploded. Shops selling unregulated, often imported devices have popped up in every suburb, many blatantly marketing to young people with cartoon-branded packaging and candy flavours. As she put it, “it’s absolutely unbelievable…No one knows where they’re coming from, no one knows what’s in them and they’re being sold with cartoon characters on them – completely unregulated.”

This, Landl pointed out, is the dangerous consequences of a prohibition-style approach. Instead of curbing youth access, the lack of legal pathway has driven them toward the black market, which in turn is fuelling – for the first time in decades – an increase in both youth vaping and smoking.

So why, despite mounting evidence, is the government sticking with a clearly broken system? Instead of reassessing the strategy, the current Labor government has gone even further – banning disposables, personal imports, and even proposing criminal penalties. Landl remarked on how shocking it was to see calls for “vape police”, and questioned “how should a country be nicotine free”, when prisons can’t even keep out drugs. Hughes agreed and said, “There isn’t the policing available resources wise to enforce what these legislative requirements are trying to put through, any of the fines or one of the suggestions was a two-year jail term.”

It’s hard not to compare this with countries that are getting it right. Landl brought up the obvious example: New Zealand, as Australia’s closest neighbour, where vaping is regulated, widely accessible to adults, and delivering impressive results in reducing smoking rates. “They have a complete opposite direction when it comes to harm reduction.” Hughes echoed the sentiment, adding that the UK provides another strong example – one where youth vaping is also starting to decline thanks to responsible regulation and enforcement, “it’s not longer as rampant as it was.”

With growing support across Australia’s political spectrum for a better way forward, Hughes pointed out that most members of her party now back a regulated, licensed and taxed model – similar to how alcohol and tobacco are controlled – stating that, “if this Labor government were to admit the model isn’t working and pivot to a new approach, they’d get bipartisan support.”

The message from both Hughes and Landl was clear: it’s time to regulate, not criminalise. It’s time to follow the evidence, not ideology. And it’s time to listen to the public, the experts, and the growing global consensus that harm reduction works.

Australia Fuel their Black Market

In another discussion on the ‘Vaping Unplugged’ podcast, Michael Landl explored how a policy designed to protect youth and regulate access has instead fuelled a booming black market, driven crime, and put lives at risk – with renowned smoking cessation expert and advocate for tobacco harm reduction, Dr. Mendelsohn.

Australia’s prescription-only model is unique – and according to Mendelsohn, it’s a total failure. “We’re the only country in the world that has that model”, he said. “The aim of it was to enable vapers to get good products, regulated products, with the support of a medical practitioner and to avoid and minimise youth vaping.

“Less than 1% of doctors are willing to provide prescriptions, they’re very uninformed about nicotine and vaping…over 90% of vapers have rejected the model and vape illegally”, turning to the black market instead.

The result? A black market controlled by criminal networks. “There have been firebombing of shops, turf wars, murders, extortion…and they’re quite happy to sell to young people.” The policy intended to curb youth access has, ironically, made it worse. “Less than 10% of the vaping market is actually the legal market, so clearly there is a problem”, Landl added.

Mendelsohn continued that rather than reform, the government isn’t backing down. Instead, it’s tightening the screws: increasing border enforcement, cracking down on illegal imports, and pushing for even more restrictions, despite evidence that prohibition doesn’t work. Pointing out the irony in this approach, he said, “Border control enforcement has a minimal effect on long-term supply. The border force as it is can barely manage to intercept a small quantity of illegal drugs. They’re interested in heroin and weapons, they’re not interested in mango vapes and they’re under-resourced as it is.”

What’s driving this harsh stance? According to Mendelsohn, it’s political image-making. The government claims it’s protecting kids from vaping, quoting alarmist, often misleading statistics about youth addiction and brain damage. “The solution is not to ban harder, the solution is to change the whole regulatory model that has enabled these kids to get these products and they just don’t seem to understand that or don’t want to understand that.”

Despite fear around youth vaping, the data tells a different story. Less than 5% of vapers in Australia are under 18, and about half of those were already smokers. Smoking among under-18s is historically low, “In our two recent national surveys, daily smoking by under 18’s was 0.9% in our main National Drug Strategy household survey and the Australian Secondary School Alcohol and Drug survey was 0.3% of 12-17 year olds”, Mendelsohn explained.

Far from being a gateway, vaping is likely diverting youth away from smoking, a benefit rarely acknowledged in the public discourse as fear-mongering and misinformation dominate the debate. Landl pointed out that, “According to the WHO’s definition, that would constitute a smoke-free generation when it’s below 5% smoking.”

Meanwhile, adult smokers are suffering and left with no legal access to safer alternatives. “The numbers are increasing rapidly, there were an extra 400,000 vapers last year so altogether there’s about 1.7 million vapers.”

Even with all the barriers, smoking rates are beginning to decline more rapidly in Australia, thanks to increased vaping, but it’s nowhere near what’s being achieved in countries with more supportive and less restrictive policies. The contrast with countries like New Zealand, as Mendelsohn pointed out, where vaping is regulated and smoking has dropped by 53% since 2016, is stark, compared to Australia’s decline of 32%. In the UK and US, where vaping is widely available and regulated, smoking rates are falling even faster. “It’s a missed opportunity for public health in Australia, we would expect to see much larger declines if vaping was legal”, he added.

Concluding their discussion, Landl asked for Dr. Mendelsohn’s general assessment on the future of harm reduction, in Australia and worldwide. Despite all the setbacks, Mendelsohn remains optimistic and believes that change is inevitable. “The fact is, harm reduction innovations are almost always resisted, whether it’s pill testing or needle syringe programmes…there’s always resistance. The evidence is undeniable, that there’s such huge benefits from facilitating harm reduction.” Public sentiment is shifting too – Mendelsohn cited, with research showing 84% of Australians believe vaping should be legally available through licensed retailers.