Australia to ban import of nicotine e-cigarettes from Oct. 1

Australians will not be able to import nicotine-containing e-cigarettes without a prescription as of Oct. 1, according to a foreign news report. The new law, which will take effect early next month, was originally announced by Health Minister Greg Hunt last year.

It means that starting in October, it will be illegal to import nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and refills without a legitimate doctor's prescription, and border teams will review the packages.

While banning the importation of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes would be a big step in the right direction for Australia, a health charity is still advocating for a nationwide ban on the sale of over-the-counter e-cigarettes.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration said they plan to investigate the distribution of e-cigarettes and test both declared and undeclared nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.

We will conduct additional reviews of products identified as containing nicotine under our compliance monitoring program beginning Oct. 1, 2021, they said. Nicotine-containing e-cigarette products must meet the legal requirements for prescription drugs in Australia, as well as the requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Standard for nicotine e-cigarette products previously outlined to you.