UPDATE: The Australian Government has delayed the vaping liquid import ban for six months. You can learn more about the latest changes and what you can do to fight the upcoming ban here.

For vapers across all of Australia, there has been one reliable source for nicotine e-liquid used with various types of e-cigarettes: overseas suppliers through which Australian vapers can import nicotine vape juice. Suddenly, this one bastion of hope for Australia’s smokers who would rather vape than smoke is under attack by the Australian government as the Health Department has announced a new plan to ban the importation of nicotine for vaping.

You can visit the Vaper Empire online vape store to order nicotine e-liquid now. If the proposed ban on nicotine e-liquid imports goes into effect, companies like Vaper Empire will no longer be able to provide vapers and smokers in Australia with access to nicotine e-liquid.

The Health Department’s proposal is currently set to go into effect on 1 July 2020, although that could change as the decision now rests in the hands of the Governor-General in Council. If the proposal is passed, Australia’s many vapers, which are currently estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands, will no longer be able to legally import nicotine for use with their e-cigarette devices. This would also mean that the millions of smokers in Australia would not have easy access to nicotine vaping products through overseas suppliers that ship their products to Australian customers.

The ban, if it goes into effect, is scheduled to last for 12 months.

The Proposed Ban’s Impact On Smokers

E-cigarettes, also known as e-cigs and vapes, have been shown to be nearly twice as effective as nicotine gum, patches, and sprays when it comes to quitting smoking, according to the findings of a study published last year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA), a registered health promotion charity formed by four independent Australian medical practitioners with the aim of reducing the harm caused by tobacco smoking in Australia, referred to the Australian government’s proposed ban on nicotine e-liquid imports as “a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of Australian vapers and smokers.”

“THE PLAN announced today by the Health Department to block the importation of nicotine for vaping is effectively a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of Australian vapers and smokers.”

Tobacco cigarettes, which remain unscathed by the proposal and subsequently remain widely accessible to Australians, kill over 20,000 Australians each and every year. E-cigarettes on the other hand, which do not contain tobacco and do not produce tar, are likely to be at least 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, according to the findings of Public Health England’s government-mandated e-cigarette evidence review.

The Exception: A Doctor’s Prescription

There is one exception outlined in the government’s proposal for banning nicotine vape imports and that exception is a doctor’s prescription. While this may sound like a workaround for Australians intent on using vaping to quit smoking, ATHRA claims that there are only a handful of Australian doctors willing to write prescriptions for nicotine e-cigs under current laws and that even less will be willing to comply with what the charity refers to as “complex and tine-consuming requirements” outlined in the government’s proposal.

The government’s proposal for banning nicotine vape liquid imports appears to suggest that pharmacists could manufacture nicotine solutions for vapers who have a prescription from a doctor, however, pharmacists require permission from state health departments to possess and import nicotine. According to ATHRA, all requests from pharmacists to possess and import nicotine for this purpose have been refused by state health departments.

The Proposed Punishment: A $222,000 Fine

For those caught importing nicotine e-liquid into Australia without a valid prescription after 1 July when the proposed ban is set to go into effect, the government intends on imposing a fine of $222,000.

Nicotine-Free Vaping Products Remain Accessible

Vaping products that do not contain nicotine such as nicotine-free vape juice and vape kits will continue to be available even if the proposed ban on nicotine e-liquid imports is passed. So for vapers who vape only nicotine-free e-juice, there may be no noticeable impact when it comes to the availability of the vaping products that they use. Of course, it probably goes without saying but many vapers use e-cigarettes with nicotine. As such, many vapers in Australia will almost certainly be impacted by the proposed ban.

Australians Are Stockpiling Nicotine E-Liquid

Although the proposed ban on nicotine vaporiser imports has not yet gone into effect and there remains a chance that it may not, many vapers in Australia have already started stockpiling nicotine vaping supplies. Vape companies like Vaper Empire are currently continuing to sell nicotine e-liquid to their customers in Australia, however, the sale of such products will cease on 1 July if the proposed ban does go into effect.

Order Now While You Still Can

If you’re a vaper or a smoker who’s thinking about switching, now is the time to order your nicotine vaping supplies. If you wait, there’s a chance that the proposed ban on nicotine vape imports will pass and you will no longer be able to order the nicotine vaping supplies that you need. To order vaping supplies that contain nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes, refill cartomizers, e-juice, and vape pods, there’s only one store that AusVape recommends and that store is Vaper Empire.

The Vaper Empire vape store carries a wide range of premium vaping products that are available with and without nicotine. Their nicotine-infused vape supplies are available in various nicotine strengths and they offer both nicotine salts and freebase nicotine liquids.

To order your vaping supplies before it’s too late, visit the Vaper Empire store.

What do you think of the Australian government’s proposal to ban nicotine vape juice imports?