From October 2021 liquid nicotine has been available as a prescription only product for the purposes of smoking cessation.
To purchase nicotine vaping products, such as nicotine e-cigarettes, nicotine pods and liquid nicotine you need a valid prescription from a registered medical of nurse practitioner. These substances can only be supplied on prescription from a pharmacy. It is illegal for tobacconist, vape shop or convenience store retailers to supply these substances.
Nicotine vaping products must not be supplied to persons aged under 18 years, or for recreational use. The NSW Health Vaping Toolkit provides resources and information for young people, parents and carers, and school staff on vaping harms, nicotine addiction and support to quit vaping.
Information on vaping can be found on the NSW Health website E-cigarettes (vapes).
More research is needed to recognise nicotine vaping products as a safe and effective aid to smoking cessation or nicotine dependence. Long-term smokers who have tried to quit smoking with approved methods without success, and are still motivated to quit smoking, can discuss the use of nicotine vaping products with their healthcare practitioner. Some prescribers may in some cases find it reasonable to recommend use of nicotine vaping products.
From 1 January 2024 a comprehensive range of reforms to address vaping was introduced by the Australian Government. For the latest information see the TGA Vaping hub
From October 2021, a prescription is required to supply nicotine e-cigarettes and other nicotine vaping products for any purpose.
Nicotine for human use is a Schedule 4 (prescription only) medicine except when in:
From October 2021, all nicotine vaping products, such as nicotine e-cigarettes, nicotine pods and liquid nicotine, are Schedule 4 (prescription only) medicines.
To supply nicotine vaping products a pharmacy must be registered with NSW Health as a tobacco/e-cigarette retailer. Registration and provision of a Retailer Identification Number (RIN) is through the Service NSW website .
To supply nicotine vaping products a prescription valid in NSW is required. The prescription must be written by an Australian registered medical or nurse practitioner who has an approval for the medicine under the TGA Authorised Prescriber (AP) or a Special Access Scheme (SAS) scheme. For more information see TGA Prescribe an unapproved therapeutic good (health practitioners)
Nicotine vaping products and associated devices and accessories must not be visible to the public from inside or outside the premises and can be sold from only one point of sale (cash register). They cannot be included in any shopper loyalty program.
From 1 January 2024, the importation of all disposable vapes is banned. Disposable vapes that were imported prior to this date may continue to be lawfully supplied in pharmacy settings to a patient with a prescription.
For further information see Reforms to the regulation of vapes and Vapes: information for pharmacists.
Pharmacies may obtain unapproved nicotine vaping products prior to receiving a prescription, only for the purpose of dispensing genuinely anticipated prescriptions issued by a prescriber with approval under the TGA Authorised Prescriber or Special Access Scheme.
Unapproved nicotine vaping products must comply with Therapeutic Goods Order no. 110 and may be sourced:
The pharmacy must provide its tobacco product Retailer Identification Number (RIN) to the wholesaler when requesting supply of any vaping product or accessory.
As with all Schedule 4 medicines, nicotine vaping products:
Nicotine vaping products must be supplied in containers with a Child Resistant Closure conforming to the Poisons Standard (the SUSMP) and the Regulation.
A compounded medicine can be prepared only in circumstances where a similar commercially available finished product medicine is unavailable, or clinically unsuitable for that patient.
A nicotine product may be extemporaneously compounded only in accordance with a prescription issued for an individual patient with a TGA approval under the Authorised Prescriber or Special Access Scheme.
Compounding must be conducted in accordance with the Pharmacy Board of Australia Guidelines on compounding of medicines.
The pharmacist must also ensure the compounded product is compliant with the Commonwealth's Therapeutic Goods Order 110 (TGO 110). See the TGA website for further information.
Wholesalers of nicotine vaping products must hold a licence to supply by wholesale, a restricted substance for therapeutic use. See Licences and authorisations.
The wholesaler must obtain the pharmacy's Retailer Identification Number (RIN) before supplying any vaping product or accessory.