As of 1 October 2021, the Australian Government's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requires vapers in Australia to maintain a valid prescription in order to purchase nicotine e-liquid and other nicotine vaping products. With a valid prescription, consumers may legally purchase nicotine e-liquid locally from a licensed Australian pharmacy or import it for personal use from an overseas supplier under the TGA's Personal Importation Scheme.
Under the TGA's Personal Importation Scheme, vapers with valid prescriptions may legally import up to a three-month supply of nicotine e-liquid for personal use.
You can learn more about nicotine prescriptions here.
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What Is An E-Liquid?
If you are doing your initial research and you have just stumbled across this article, you may be wondering what we mean by "e-liquid".
E-liquid, or "vape juice", is the substance that your vaping device uses to create the vapour that you then inhale and exhale. It is typically made up of water, flavourings, nicotine, vegetable glycerin, and propylene glycol.
A typical e-cigarette contains a metal coil wrapped around a wick. When e-liquid is present in the device, the wick soaks up some of the e-liquid and the coil is then heated to create vapour that can then be inhaled and exhaled in a process known simply as "vaping".
Can You Get Nicotine E-Liquid In Australia?
Consumers in Australia are required to have a valid nicotine prescription issued by a licensed Australian doctor in order to legally purchase nicotine vaping products. With a valid prescription, consumers in the country can purchase e-liquid that contains nicotine from both Australian pharmacies and overseas suppliers.
Under the TGA's Personal Importation Scheme, it is legal to import a three-month supply per order. A valid nicotine prescription is required and such orders must be for personal use only.
You can find more information about vaping prescriptions here.
Nicotine E-Liquid vs 0% Nicotine E-Liquid
The main difference between nicotine-free and nicotine-containing e-liquid is obvious: one contains nicotine and one doesn't, but why does this matter
Generally speaking, we can break down people who vape into two categories:
- Those who are trying to quit smoking.
- Those who are vaping for a reason other than quitting smoking.
People who vape to aid the cessation of smoking may find nicotine e-liquid to keep their nicotine cravings at bay. If a smoker who is trying to quit was to use a nicotine-free e-liquid, there's a chance they would fail because vaping nicotine-free e-liquid does not deliver any nicotine to the user.
Ex-smokers will sometimes begin vaping with e-liquids that have a high concentration of nicotine. Over time, as they keep away from cigarettes and their nicotine cravings calm down, it is possible for them to adjust downwards the concentrations of nicotine in their e-liquids until, eventually, all cravings have ceased. This process of tapering e-liquid strength is used by some vapers to wean themselves off nicotine, eventually reaching the point at which they only vape with nicotine-free liquid.