Vapes are already a hot topic for debates and their legal status varies in many countries of the world. Australian government focuses on reducing cigarette use therefore, the legal status of vapes is questionable.
If you are living in Australia, you already know how much expensive a pack of cigarettes is. So how can they allow vapes that are far more dangerous for health?
Because of all these things and measures, you will find conflicting information on the web. These conflicts are also because of the changes in laws and regulations in different states. Even in some parts of Australia, you can legally obtain vapes but not in other regions.
Furthermore, the laws are changing in recent years. Therefore, if you want complete information, you should pay attention to the latest rules and regulations regarding e-cigarettes.
So if you are allowed to get an e-cigarette, you can buy it even online. For example, shosha.com.au is an online store where you can find vape kits and accessories. In addition to this, you can find online support from www.shosha.com.au. So if you are not sure about the legal status, you can contact them. An interesting thing is that if you can get it legally, you will also get an overnight shipment.
The legal status of e-cigarettes (containing nicotine) in Australia
Source: nature.com
Despite the legal status of some vapes, any nicotine-based cigarette or vape is illegal there. Therefore, if the composition has nicotine written on it, you are not allowed to buy it. Furthermore, it won’t be easy to get it to form the market. Nicotine is illegal and therefore, no authentic seller would sell them. But despite all the strictness, there are still some sellers that can do things in the black market. So you should better avoid them.
In addition to this, nicotine should not come into your personal use. It has more uses and therefore, it is possible that you might get it in the market. However, it is illegal for personal use.
There is the National Poisons Standard in Australia that acts as a scale and number the dangerous level of things. And under this standard, Nicotine has the number 7 and is a dangerous poison and is harmful to your health.
Efforts by the vaping community of Australia
Source: pixabay.com
All the legal regulations have put the vaping community in a hard position. Therefore, they had to fight back so that they can cut some slack. Their fight has put pressure on the government and they had to reduce the strictness over it.
As a result of this, e-cigarettes are under inquiry by the federal parliamentary. They are planning on changing the legal status of nicotine-based e-cigarettes.
To date, there is not much progress but the case is still under inquiry. Furthermore, from the current situation, it is quite clear the government has a clear stance over the harms of nicotine. Therefore, it is highly likely that these vapes will remain illegal.
Is it illegal in the whole of Australia?
Source: heart.org
Although the personal use of nicotine is illegal in Australia but it is not everywhere. There is only a single state (Queensland) in Australia where nicotine-based E-cigarettes (vapes) are completely illegal. Furthermore, if you are caught using or consuming them, you will be charged by the relevant department. Thus, you will have to pay the fine.
Apart from Queensland, vaping e-cigs containing nicotine is not illegal and you can consume them without the fear of being caught. And also, there is no fine on using or buying them. However, the government does its best to reduce the use and therefore, they are quite expensive.
Shipment of e-liquids in Australia
Source: businesspost.ng
Despite being a legal thing to consume, the prices of e-cigarettes are quite high. This is to reduce the consumption of such harmful products. This situation raises the question of importing them from overseas. Buying e-liquids and e-cigarettes are legal in a number of countries around the world. Furthermore, the prices are also not high.
However, your vapes and e-liquids will still have to go through customs and you will have the pay the import tax. This will eventually raise the price and you will still have to pay more amount.
About the legality of the import of nicotine-based e-liquids and vapes, the regulations are the same. You cannot import them to Queensland even if you have a prescription from a doctor. Unlike Queensland, you will need a medical prescription to import them to the rest of the Australian states. Furthermore, you can import them for therapeutic use and not for other reasons.
And you should be clear of this thing that if you do not have a prescription from a medical facility, it is illegal for you to do so. In addition to this, there are some rules and regulations that you need to follow. Failure to abide by these conditions will put you in a tight spot and you will have to face difficulty. Moreover, you will also have to pay some fines. So pay attention to these conditions, which include;
- You must have a prescription from a registered medical practitioner before importing vapes or e-liquids containing nicotine. This is because nicotine comes under the Poisons Standard.
- You can import them only for medical and therapeutic purposes for yourself and also for your immediate family members.
- You can only import the amount for 3 months’ use, it should not exceed this. In the case of e-liquids, a 1000 ml or less quantity is acceptable.
- Nicotine is not a prohibited item in the Customs Act. However, you should not order anything that comes under the prohibited items of the Customs Act.
Final words…
One of the important components of vapes is nicotine but there are non-nicotine products available in the market. Nicotine is the product that makes cigarettes and vapes unacceptable and illegal in Australia. Therefore, you can buy a vape in Australia as long as there is no nicotine in it.
