Smoking and vaping
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 – electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), vapes, vape pens, e-hookas, bongs and waterpipes.
In the ACT it is illegal to smoke or vape in certain public places under the Smoke-Free Public Places Act 2003.
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
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, Juuls and e-hookahs. Vapes is the most common term used in the community.
Vapes can come in many different shapes and sizes and may look like everyday items such as a highlighter, pen, USB memory sticks or even lipstick.
The main parts in a vape are a lithium battery, heating coil and liquid container. The liquid is called e-liquil, e-juice, or vape juice and contains many chemicals, flavours and often nicotine – even if this is not stated on the packaging.
Vapes are not safe. Find out more about vaping and your health.
The biggest misunderstanding about vapes is that they are harmless compared to cigarettes. This is not true.
Vapes are considered a smoking product under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act.
The laws
The sale of smoking products (for example, cigarettes, tobacco, vaping products) is regulated under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act in the ACT. It is illegal to sell or supply smoking products without a licence. This includes selling them to your friends.
The sale of nicotine vaping products such as nicotine e-cigarettes, nicotine pods and liquid nicotine is restricted to pharmacies and requires a prescription.
The sale of any vaping product to people under the age of 18 is illegal.
It is illegal for other Australian retailers, such as tobacconists,vape shops and convenience stores, to sell nicotine vaping products, even to someone who has a prescription. Restrictions also apply to advertising, displays and marketing.
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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