From today, October 1 , new changes to Australian laws around vaping products should make it easier for adults to get low-dose nicotine vapes as a tool to quit smoking. Pharmacists will be able to supply vapes containing up to 2% nicotine without a prescription following a patient consultation. People aged under 18 will still need a prescription to access vapes, while anyone seeking a vape containing a higher dose of nicotine will similarly still need a prescription.
So how did we get here? And are these changes going to make it easier for people to access nicotine vapes to help them quit smoking? A series of changes to vape laws Evidence suggests vapes containing nicotine can help people quit smoking , and may be more effective than other nicotine replacement therapies. For people who haven’t been successful with other methods, using vapes to quit smoking may be a reasonable option to try. Vaping is certainly not without risks.
However, vapes emit far lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes, so the health risks of vaping are likely much less than those of smoking. Since 2012, Australians have needed a prescription to access vapes that contain nicotine, while nicotine-free vapes were allowed to be sold under the same conditions as tobacco products in most of Australia. However, many vapes that were sold under the guise of being nicotine-free contained undeclared nicotine.
Few Australians obtained a prescription , even when using vapes to quit smoking. Spurr.