How to get nicotine vape juice in Australia

Published: 12 February 2025

Key takeaways

Pharmacies don’t require prescriptions (except for WA and TAS)
High-concentration pharmacy vapes require GP prescription
Only use vaping to quit and not for casual or recreational use.

Quitting smoking is a challenging journey, but with the right tools and support, it is achievable. One effective aid in this process is through therapeutic vapes¹, which can help reduce cravings and ease withdrawal symptoms.

Vaping works by heating a nicotine vape juice (also known as e-liquid) in order to create an aerosol (also known as vapour) that can be inhaled.

Nowadays, except for Western Australia² and Tasmania³, you can head to your local pharmacy and purchase a ready-to-use nicotine vape. You won’t need a prescription for low-dosage vapes (those that contain 20mg/mL or lower dosage of nicotine), and your pharmacist can instruct you on how to use it.

But in some cases, you’ll need to learn how to get a vape prescription to access therapeutic vapes with higher than 20mg/mL of nicotine.

Let’s know more about how to access therapeutic vapes in Australia in today’s post.

When do I need a prescription?

You can only buy low-dosage therapeutic vapes from pharmacies in Australia without a prescription. For vapes with higher nicotine dosages, you’ll need a prescription from your GP as part of your stop-smoking programme.

Under Australian law, it is illegal to buy, possess, or use high concentrations of liquid nicotine for vaping without a prescription from a registered Australian medical practitioner.⁴

That means that any vape you find from groceries, convenience stores, and anywhere else outside of pharmacies are all illegally sold.

Therapeutic vapes from pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking.

Low-dose vapes minimise the risk of contaminants due to the minimal vapour while maximising the nicotine intake to address your cravings.

Nicotine delivery is based on the following aspects:

The concentration of nicotine in the vape juice; and
The power output of the e-cigarette device itself.

Find your nearest pharmacy for therapeutic vapes

All listed pharmacies have been verified as a stocked and trained provider of therapeutic nicotine vapes

How to get a therapeutic vape in Australia

It’s simple how to get a therapeutic vape in Australia today – much simpler than it was years before.

As mentioned earlier, you can head to your local pharmacist and access therapeutic vapes without any prescription without legal issues. The recent changes to vaping regulations⁵ allow you to purchase low-dose vapes from pharmacies.

If you’re facing challenges finding a nearby pharmacy that supplies low-dose therapeutic vapes, you can use Quitwise’s nationwide directory of pharmacists that carry these in-stock to find one within seconds. You can use the tool right here.

You can purchase them without any prescriptions (as long as they contain 20 mg/mL of nicotine or less and you are above 18 years old).

Now, on how to get a therapeutic vape with high dosage levels (usually higher concentration schedule 4 products), you will need a GP’s prescription and counselling to use them.

You can begin this process by:

Talking to a GP and having an initial consultation
Going through nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
If NRTs prove to be ineffective, your GP may then have you go through low-powered vapes.
The higher-concentration vapes from pharmacies are only a last line solution and only if your GP deems it necessary to help you quit.

Legal requirements and state regulations

You’ve already read that therapeutic vapes with lower than 20mg/mL of nicotine are now available in pharmacies without any prescription – just walk in and your pharmacist will guide you through the process.

As of 1 October 2024, all therapeutic vapes with a low dose of nicotine can be purchased without any prescriptions. However, they’re only accessible through pharmacies. This is to ensure that the vapes are used for stopping smoking and not for recreation.

In the case of Western Australia and Tasmania, motivated smokers will still have to go through a GP and get a prescription to access therapeutic vapes with either low or higher nicotine dosages.

This means you’ll still have to follow the original steps mentioned in the earlier section and not just walk in a pharmacy to buy one.

To sum up…

If you need a therapeutic vape, you can head down to your local pharmacy as long as you’re not in Western Australia or Tasmania — you’ll still need to be under a stop-smoking programme supervised by a GP in these territories and a prescription to buy a therapeutic vape from a pharmacy.

However, for all other territories, you’ll also still need a GP’s prescription if you need a therapeutic vape with nicotine content higher than 20mg/mL.

In doing so, the new government regulations ensure that everyone only uses therapeutic vapes to stop smoking through the new pharmacy model for prescriptions.

As mentioned, all therapeutic vapes are available in almost every pharmacy, but if your local pharmacy can’t seem to help, Quitwise hosts a nationwide directory of pharmacies that are verified as stocked and trained suppliers.

Take the first step today and let Quitwise help you find the support you deserve!

Sources:

Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub8/full
Western Australia to override national vaping laws, but just two retailers have been prosecuted for illegal sales: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-25/wa-overrides-national-vaping-sale-laws-pharmacy-vape-sales/104392882
Tasmania set to get strongest vaping restrictions in the country in plan to override ‘watered-down’ federal law: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-30/tasmania-vaping-restrictions-to-be-strongest-in-country/104290484
Changes to the regulation of vapes: https://www.tga.gov.au/products/unapproved-therapeutic-goods/vaping-hub/changes-regulation-vapes

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Find your nearest pharmacy

All listed pharmacies have been verified as a stocked and trained provider of therapeutic nicotine vapes

All health and safety information on Quitwise is evidence-based, fact-checked and provided from reputable third party sources

The content on this website is for informational purposes only and is not to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for medical guidance. Quitwise is not responsible for any health outcomes based on the information presented here.

Quitwise is owned and operated by Liber Pharmaceuticals for the purpose of furthering education regarding therapeutic vaping products as a second-line therapy for the purposes of smoking cessation and the management of nicotine dependence.

Liber is an Australian owned and operated company and has no affiliation with the tobacco industry, their affiliates, or any organisations or individuals engaged in lobbying on their behalf.

Find your nearest pharmacy

All listed pharmacies have been verified as a stocked and trained provider of therapeutic nicotine vapes