The Australian Government has committed an extra $107 million to regulate vaping products, as major companies vie for a share of the embattled market.
E-cigarettes can now only be sold in pharmacies, following a new law that came into effect in October.
“The Government is committed to successfully implementing its world-leading vaping reforms, to reduce the public health menace that is recreational vaping,” said Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler today.
“Vape shops around the country are closing and importantly, young Australians are finding it harder to purchase vapes,” he said.
Just 3,500 vapes were sold without a prescription in the first month after the law was introduced. More than seven million vaping products have been seized by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Border Force since October.
Philip Morris International has begun targeting Australian pharmacies with its VEEV-branded vape, reportedly offering a margin of 80% on vaping devices and pods for pharmacies that agree to a direct supply deal with the company.
VEEV has been marketed as a product for smokers hoping to quit.
Australia’s Liber Pharmaceuticals has also minted a deal to provide its Nicovape Q e-cigarette to pharmaceutical wholesalers Sigma, Symbion, and API, which then supply pharmacy chains like Chemist Warehouse and Priceline.
Liber also owns online platform Smoke Free Clinic, which offers e-cigarette prescriptions.
Around 3.5% of Australians used e-cigarettes daily in 2022-2023, according to a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare this year. 0.5% of the population used e-cigarettes daily in 2016.
The percentage of Australian daily smokers fell over the same time period, from 12% in 2016 to 8.3% last year.