Importing e-cigarettes is to become a thing of the past as the Australian Border Force (ABF) prepares to enforce proposed new laws prohibiting the importation of e-cigarettes containing vaporiser nicotine and refills from 1 July.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt has asked his Department to work with the ABF on a new approach to regulate e-cigarettes containing vaporiser nicotine, unless on a prescription from a doctor.
In response, the ABF said the prohibition would be in place for 12 months to allow for public consultation on the regulation of nicotine products by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in the form of an amendment to the Poisons Standard.
“This would mean that vaporiser nicotine products, including nicotine-containing e-cigarettes would require a valid prescription (except for tobacco cigarettes or TGA-approved smoking cessation products such as gums, sprays and patches),” the ABF said.
“As part of this consultation the proposal will also be considered by a Ministerial advisory committee,” it said.
“A final decision is expected to be announced early in 2021.”
ABF said that under the import prohibition, individuals would still be able to vape using vaporiser nicotine-containing e-cigarettes if they had a prescription from their doctor.
“Individuals would get their vaporiser nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or nicotine-containing refills via a permission granted by the Department of Health to a doctor or medical supplier who would be able to import the goods using a courier service or by cargo service,” the ABF said.
