Selling smoking products
Your business must have a tobacco licence to sell smoking products by retail or wholesale.
There are restrictions to the sale, display, advertising and promotion of all smoking products.
National laws apply for the sale of vaping products. Under these laws only pharmacies may sell these products. Read more on these rules in the Therapeutics Goods Administration vaping hub.
Smoking products
Smoking products include:
- Tobacco products – including cigarettes, cigars, roll your own tobacco, shisha smoking products and waterpipe devices.
- Herbal products – including tobacco-free cigarettes, cigars or shisha that contains herbs or other plant matter.
- Personal vaporisers – including waterpipes and bongs.
- Vaping goods – including vapes, e-liquids, heating elements, cartridges, and mouthpieces for vaping products.
While vaping products are considered prohibited smoking products under ACT law, under Australian Government and ACT laws the sale of vaping products is restricted to pharmacies.
Restrictions on sale and supply of vaping products
The importation, domestic manufacture, supply, commercial possession, and advertisement of non-therapeutic and disposable vaping goods are prohibited under Australian law. Criminal and civil penalties apply to this conduct. Supply of vaping products is regulated in the ACT under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008. The sale of non-therapeutic vaping products (sold outside of pharmacies) is prohibited and is regulated under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927.
It is illegal for any business other than a pharmacy to sell vapes or vaping products in Australia, regardless of whether they contain nicotine or not. Other businesses, including tobacconists, vape shops and convenience stores, cannot lawfully supply any type of vaping product.
Therapeutic vaping products that comply with regulations set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) can continue to be sold by pharmacies.
Pharmacies may only sell vaping products that comply with the TGA’s updated product standards.
Anyone who holds a valid prescription from a medical or nurse practitioner can be supplied with vaping products at a participating pharmacy. Adults (aged 18 and over) can also buy vaping products over the counter at participating pharmacies, without the need for a prescription. Conditions apply, including providing proof of age. Over the counter supply will be limited to vaping products containing a maximum nicotine concentration of 20 mg/mL.
Find out more about accessing vaping products.
Disposal of vaping products
Vaping products contain lithium batteries and hazardous chemicals. They pose a risk of fires, worker exposure and environmental contamination and must be disposed of safely. Visit the ACT Government Recyclopaedia for free and safe disposal options for personal products.
Restrictions on sale and supply of smoking products
Licensing
Your business must have a valid licence to sell smoking products by retail or wholesale.
Wholesale licences must be displayed in a prominent place at each premises.
Retail licences must be displayed at, or nearby, each point of sale at the premises.
Pharmacists do not require a license to sell vaping products.
Plain packaging
All tobacco products sold, offered for sale or otherwise supplied in Australia must be in plain packaging.
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care provide more information about tobacco plain packaging.
Health warnings and health promotion inserts
Health warnings are required on all tobacco product packaging for retail in Australia.
From 1 July 2025, on-product health messages are required to be printed on the paper covering the filter on all individual cigarettes for retail in Australia, and health promotion inserts are required to be placed inside the retail packaging for cigarette and loose processed tobacco products sold and supplied in Australia.
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care provide more information about health warnings on tobacco products.
Sale and supply to minors
In the ACT, it is illegal to supply a smoking product to anyone under the age of 18 years (other than a therapeutic vaping product where the person holds a valid prescription). It is also an offence for a person to purchase a smoking product for the purpose of supplying it to a person under the age of 18 years.
Sellers must ask to see proof of age to ensure that no one under the age of 18 purchases a smoking product. You may accept an Australian driver license, a foreign driver licence, a proof of identity card, a passport or an Australia Post Keypass ID with a photo and a date of birth as evidence that a person is 18 years old.
Access Canberra is authorised to conduct compliance testing under the legislation. Volunteer young people may be used to test retailer compliance with the sales to minors provision at any time.
Young people (aged under 18 years) can buy vaping products at participating pharmacies, provided the individual holds a valid prescription. Smoke-free laws still apply to vaping products purchased from a pharmacy.
Point of sale requirements
Retail premises can have a maximum of one point of sale for smoking products.
Liquor-licensed premises with an on license, general license or club licence can have up to 5 points of sale for smoking products.
The point of sale must be bounded by a counter and have a cash register or registers located at that counter. Selling smoking products from cash registers on adjacent counters is considered more than one point of sale.
Storage and display
Smoking products must be kept out of public view.
They must be located on the seller’s side at the point of sale and kept at least one metre away from the customer side.
Stocking and retrieval
When re-stocking, smoking products must be placed immediately into storage and kept out of view as much as possible.
When retrieving items for sale, products must be visible for as little time as possible.
Information at the point of sale
Licensees must display an A5 sized sign at the point of sale that states that smoking products can only be sold to people over the age of 18.
Price tickets can be displayed for available and usually available products.
Price tickets for smoking products must:
- not exceed 15 square centimetres in size
- contain only text printed in 12 point Times New Roman type.
Bar codes can be included on price tickets.
Documents showing the price of smoking products must not be provided to customers. If needed, a sheet with barcodes and product names can be kept under the counter for use by staff.
You can scan smoking products to confirm pricing for customers. You are also permitted to tell customers what products are available and how much they cost. You can't say anything that promotes the use of a particular product or smoking generally.
Vending machines
Smoking products may not be sold using a vending machine.
Restrictions on advertising and promotion
There are restrictions to the advertising and promotion of smoking products. Advertising or promotion of smoking products is prohibited under the following legislation;
- Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 (Cwlth) which prohibits any form of communication, recommendation or action that promotes, or is likely to promote smoking or vaping or a tobacco or vaping product.
- Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927 which restricts the promotion and advertising of smoking products including any writing, sound, picture, symbol, light or other visible device, object or sign that promotes the purchase or use of a smoking product or a trademark or brand name, or part of a trademark or brand name, of a smoking product.
- Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cwlth) which prohibits advertising of Schedule 4 substances such as nicotine.
This includes:
- signs, posters, items and devices which advertise or promote smoking or smoking products
- tobacco product or e-cigarette posters and packaging
- customer reward schemes for the purchase of smoking products
- sponsorships or product giveaways
- competitions that promote smoking or promote a smoking product
- films, videotapes, DVDs or other recordings that contain anything which advertises a smoking product
- trade promotions or communications by wholesalers to tobacco retailers.
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website has more information about tobacco advertising bans as well as a guide to advertising and sponsorship prohibitions.
The advertising of all vaping products is banned, unless expressly permitted by the Therapeutic Goods (Vaping Goods—Advertising) Authorisation 2024.
Compliance
Tobacco and herbal smoking products are regulated in the ACT through the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927.
Go to Access Canberra for more information on licensing and compliance. The supply of vaping products is regulated in the ACT under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008.
Sellers can be fined or charged for failing to comply with the laws.