Smoking and vaping
Smoking and vaping are regulated in the ACT. Find out about smoking and vaping laws in the ACT.
Smoking and vaping are regulated in the ACT. This includes the sale, purchase, and use of smoking products.
Smoking products include:
- tobacco products or tobacco containing products prepared for human consumption – cigarettes, cigar or shisha tobacco
- herbal products prepared for smoking that do not contain tobacco
- a personal vaporiser or a personal vaporiser related product, such as bongs and waterpipes.
- vaping products are prohibited smoking products and may only be supplied by a pharmacy. It is illegal for tobacconists, vape shops, supermarkets and convenience store retailers to sell any type of vaping good, regardless of its nicotine content.
In the ACT it is illegal to smoke or vape in certain public places under the Smoke-Free Public Places Act 2003, even if you have a prescription. Find out more information about where you can't smoke or vape in the ACT.
Smoking
In Australia, tobacco can be legally sold to adults as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco and shisha tobacco.
It is illegal to sell heated tobacco products and tobacco not intended for smoking, for example, chewing tobacco.
Vaping
Under Australian and ACT laws, vaping products can only be sold at pharmacies. Single-use vaping products are banned.
Vaping is harmful to health and to the health of others. It is illegal to vape in any place where smoking is prohibited.
What is a vape?
Vapes are electronic devices that deliver an aerosol into the lungs. Vapes are sometimes called electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, personal vaporisers, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, hookah pen, mods, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), puff bars, and e-hookahs. Vapes is the most common term used in the community.
The main parts in a vape are a lithium battery, heating coil and liquid container. The liquid is called e-liquid, e-juice, or vape juice and contains chemicals, flavours and often nicotine – even if this is not stated on the packaging. Vaping products sold legally at pharmacies must comply with strict requirements set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Legal vaping products
Vaping products are prohibited smoking products and may only be supplied by a pharmacy. All vaping products, including those without nicotine must:
- only be purchased from a pharmacy
- be clearly labelled with the level of nicotine, which can be no more than 100mg/mL
- be flavoured with only mint, menthol or tobacco flavour
- have limits on the ingredients they can contain, with ingredients known to be particularly harmful prohibited
- not contain any active ingredient other than nicotine
- be re-usable devices.
Vaping products purchased from outside of a pharmacy may look different. They may be disguised as an everyday item such as a highlighter, pen, USB memory stick. They may contain prohibited ingredients including hazardous chemicals and often contain nicotine despite this not being listed on the label.
Vaping is not safe. Find out more about vaping and your health.
The laws
The sale of cigarettes, other tobacco products and herbal smoking products is regulated under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act in the ACT. It is illegal to sell or supply these smoking products without a licence. This includes selling them to your friends.
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 these actions.
The sale of all nicotine and non-nicotine vaping products is restricted to pharmacies. Anyone with a valid prescription from a medical or nurse practitioner can be supplied with vaping products from a pharmacy.
Adults (aged 18 and over) can also buy vaping products containing a maximum nicotine concentration of 20 mg/mL over the counter at participating pharmacies. Conditions apply, including providing proof of age identification.
Find out more about accessing vaping products.
Find out more about selling smoking products.
Smoking tobacco also harms the people around you. It contains thousands of chemicals that are toxic and cause cancer.
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