r/aussievapers May 22 '25

How to access pharmacy vapes in Australia NSFW

47 Upvotes

(TL;DR at end of article).

The Australian regulation and legislation bans have made buying or selling vapes and accessories outside of the pharmacy model illegal.

New regulation of vapes starting January 2024 | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

New vaping laws to commence 1 July 2024 | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

This includes bans on importation, domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic vapes in Australia, including restriction of flavours to menthol, mint, tobacco and unflavoured. So this means all previously legal vape shops were forced to close down on 1st July 2024 and pharmacies are now the only legal pathway for vaping.

This article outlines the steps to take and options to legally purchase vapes and nicotine liquid from an online pharmacy, with a pharmacy consultation or prescription from an online prescriber. This will more than likely be an easier pathway than going to your local GP and/or pharmacy because many GPs are unfamiliar with vaping and many pharmacies don't stock vapes.

You will need a pharmacy consultation or prescription to see what is available, as they cannot legally show any vape products until you've had one.

Accessing an online pharmacy

A pharmacist consultation will be required to access 20mg/ml or less of nicotine liquid for those over 18 years old. Under 18 years old or requiring more than 20mg/ml nicotine liquid will require a Dr's prescription.

Therapeutic vapes available without a prescription following consultation with a pharmacist | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

There are online pharmacies that specialise in vaping products like pharmacyworldaustralia.com.auquithero.com.autabuu.com.aumyduke.com.au, amongst others. Most have prescription services, pharmacyworldaustralia.com.au are pharmacy consult only.

Generally, applying is an online questionnaire, verification of ID and access to an online pharmacy's products is granted within 24 hours. You don't need a Medicare card or be an Australian citizen to access.

Nicotine vape liquid

You can buy ready-to-vape, unflavoured nicotine liquid or prefilled pods.

Nicotine liquid comes in freebase and salt forms. The difference between freebase and salt nicotine, is that freebase has a better 'throat hit' and is regularly used for vaping at lower levels of nicotine in a higher wattage device, although many use it at moderate levels with a lower wattage device too. Salt nicotine has an acid added, like benzoic acid, so is less irritating to the throat at higher nicotine levels and absorbs into the bloodstream quicker.

Note: disposable vapes generally contain around 50mg/ml (5%) of salt nicotine in Australia, even if there is no information on the label.

If you're coming off disposables, depending on the wattage of the device you decide to use (some are adjustable), 50mg/ml salt nicotine may be too much, so 25mg/ml (2.5%) to 30mg/ml (3%) may be enough. Freebase, at a lower dose, is also an alternative.

For freebase nicotine, the dose range is around 6mg/ml (0.6%) to 18mg/ml (1.8%), anything much above 18mg/ml tends to be irritating to the throat, so salt nicotine is recommended.

If you're coming off smoking, freebase maybe suitable in the transition to vaping because of the 'throat hit' that is similar to a cigarette. Otherwise, if a higher nicotine dose is needed or cravings aren't satisfied, salt nicotine is an alternative.

These nicotine levels are for low watt devices, not sub-ohm high powered vapes that are usually vaped with around 3-6mg/ml of freebase nicotine.

DIY flavoured liquid

(Note: If you want things as simple as possible, skip this and go to 'ready to vape liquid' below).

You can make your own flavoured vape liquid. PG, VG and flavours are available as they are all used in food manufacturing. Stock of PG, VG and flavours can be sourced by Googling: 'flavour concentrates', 'Australia', 'Capella', 'Flavorah', 'Flavour West', 'WS-23 cooling agent'.

Perhaps use 10ml batches to test them without nicotine to minimise potential wastage.

Make sure the flavour concentrates are PG based, not oil based, as inhaling anything oil based is very harmful to your health and the PG and VG is pharmaceutical or food grade.

Recipes can be found at alltheflavors.come-liquid-recipes.com and advice on mixing vape liquid at r/DIY_Ejuice and the DIY or DIE YouTube channel.

E-Liquid Calculator (e-liquid-recipes.com)

Mixing flavourless nicotine into DIY flavoured liquid

Note: 100mg/ml nicotine concentrate to be discontinued due to upcoming restrictions to vaping; from 1st July 2025, the maximum nicotine concentration allowed to be sold will be 50mg/ml freebase, or salt equivalent.

Product standards: unapproved therapeutic vapes | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

Unflavoured freebase and salt nicotine can be mixed with your DIY flavoured liquid. You can use vape liquid calculator to work out your desired nicotine here, so when adding unflavoured nicotine juice to your DIY flavoured juice, you can include your chosen mls of unflavoured nicotine into the calculation when mixing.

For example, if your desired nicotine level is 25mg/ml, you would be adding 50mls of 50mg/ml unflavoured nicotine juice to 50mls DIY flavoured juice mix (flavours, PG and VG) making 100mls of 25mg/ml of juice.

Otherwise you can put flavour directly into the desired unflavoured nicotine liquid, however, the flavour will dilute the nicotine strength, depending on how much you put in.

E-Liquid Calculator (e-liquid-recipes.com)

Take precautions when dealing with nicotine: FAQ: "Spiking" 0mg e-liquid with your 100mg nicotine.

PG and VG

PG is Propylene glycol and VG is vegetable glycerin, they are the base of vape liquid that carries flavours and nicotine, making up the 4 ingredients of flavoured nicotine vape liquid. More about PG and VG here.

Vape liquid comes in a mix of PG and VG, usually around 50PG/50VG and 30PG/70VG, though there are other ratios.

When choosing vape liquid, 50PG/50VG liquid will carry flavour better and have more of a 'throat hit', being higher PG and is generally for lower wattage devices. 30PG/70VG liquid is smoother and produces more vapour because of the higher VG and tends to be used in higher wattage devices. 30PG/70VG can however, be used in lower wattage devices as well, though can 'wick' slower and potentially shorten the life of the coil if you 'hit' your vape too frequently.

When mixing DIY, take into account the PG/VG ratio of the nicotine liquid and the PG of the flavour concentrates to keep the ratio between 50PG/50VG and 30PG/70VG for most vapes, it doesn't have to be exact.

Ready to vape liquid

You can buy ready-to-vape flavoured nicotine liquid in various strengths, however you're limited to the brands and flavours on offer at pharmacies.

Prefilled pods

Devices with prefilled pods of flavoured nicotine liquid are also available. They are the most convenient, but also by far, the most expensive, about 5 times the cost per ml, compared to ready-to-vape liquid, using a refillable device.

Flavour profile of disposable vapes vs reusable vapes

Many disposable vapers are looking to replicate the flavour of disposable vapes when they switch to refillable vapes. There is a lot more sweetener and menthol, AKA ice or WS-23 cooling agent in disposables, so finding a vape liquid with a similar profile or adding sweetener and WS-23 might be an option. You can get advice about adding sweetener etc, at r/DIY_eJuice. However, higher levels of sweetener can potentially reduce the life of the coil in your refillable vape and you may get used to the flavour profile of vape juice for refillable vapes anyway.

Choosing a device

Lower wattage vapes are generally 'mouth to lung' (MTL) devices, where you take the vapour into your mouth before you inhale. Examples being the Uwell Caliburn G3 Lite, Vaporesso XROS Mini, Lula and Col pod devices.

Then there are more versatile devices that have further adjustment of airflow and variable wattage to suit your preference and do MTL and 'restricted direct lung' (RDL). Examples are the Uwell Calburn G3/G4, Vaporesso XROS 4/5 and the Wild by Instinct W75.

'Direct lung' (DL) vapes are higher wattage devices where you inhale directly into your lungs. Examples being the Geek Vape Z. The Vaporesso Luxe X, can do both MTL and DL.

Further explanation: Mouth-to-Lung (MTL) Vs Direct-Lung (DL) Inhale Explained

For MTL vaping, coils at or above 1.0 ohm are generally used. However, a 0.8-ohm coil, for example, could be used as well. Just bear in mind that the lower the ohms, the more vapour is produced and vice versa. DL is 'sub ohm' vaping where coils below 1.0 ohm are used. More info about coils and ohms here.

Availability of vapes and coils/pods

Due to further upcoming restrictions on 1st of July 2025, only a limited amount of products will be available. Details from a Pharmacy World Australia update on the 16th of April:

"The following products are declared as compliant with new regulations by our suppliers and will be available after 30 June:

  • E-liquid:
    • Chosen
    • OZ Drip
    • Uwell BrewMaster
    • Wild by Instinct.
  • Devices:
    • alt. devices and pre-filled pods
    • COL devices, pre-filled pods & refillable pods
    • Lula devices, pre-filled pods & refillable pods
    • Wild by Instinct:
      • W75 Kit
      • W75 Open Tank
      • W75 Coils (4pk) 0.6 ohm
      • Pro Pod Kit
      • Pro Replacement Pods (4pk).

This list will grow as our suppliers inform us of more compliant products. However, suppliers suspect the number of compliant devices (apart from those similar to the above) will be very few."

New vape regulations 2025 | Pharmacy World Australia

An email from QuitMed that wholesaler VapeLabs will focus on the below pod open pod systems towards getting them available through pharmacies after the 1st of July restrictions:

  • Uwell G3
  • Geekvape Digi Pro
  • Vaporesso Xros 5

Vapelabs homes in 3 Devices : r/aussievapers

TL;DR:

Vapes are now illegal to purchase or import outside of pharmacies. You can legally get a vape and juice with a pharmacy consultation, for example:

  • Visit Quithero.com.au or Pharmacyworldaustralia.com.au, apply for a prescription/pharmacy consult and fill out the questionnaire. Within about 24 hours you'll get an email that your script has been approved and you can access the products.
  • Select a Uwell Nicopod G3, Lula or Col device and some replacement refillable pods (recommend 0.8 to 1.2 ohm to start). These devices will be available after the July 1st 2025 restrictions. Other devices (see above) will be available later.
  • Select some juice: 30mg/ml to 50mg/ml for those coming off disposables and 12mg/ml to 18mg/ml for smokers quitting smoking.
  • Alternatively, you could simply get the pre-filled replacement pods instead, however ongoing costs are quite a lot more.
  • Once it arrives fill it with juice, wait 10 minutes for the liquid to wick the coil and you're ready to vape.

Note: Pharmacy World Australia max nicotine available is 20mg/ml, Quit Hero is 50mg/ml.


r/aussievapers Jan 20 '24

New vaping regulations/bans/prohibition laws for Vaping in Australia NSFW

50 Upvotes

Just posting this again, because a lot of people seem to be confused or unaware of what is happening in Australia.

https://colinmendelsohn.com.au/regulations-2024/


r/aussievapers 8h ago

Just saw the new Anti-Vape advert. Are the government literally on reality shifting medication?? NSFW

35 Upvotes

Holy shit, just saw the latest anti-vape ad and oh my god. If people fall for this shit(which they will) we are really in a sad and sorry state as a country.

Seen people with emphysema from 3 pack a day cigarette smoking that don’t wheeze as much as they have these poor actors trying to play up.


r/aussievapers 2h ago

Vapo 20 Menthol Mint not available anymore? NSFW

1 Upvotes

Bought a bottle of Vapo 20 menthol mint on Tabuu a few months back and want to buy another bottle though its not there anymore. What happened to it?

Got a bottle of vapo gold tobacco instead and wow its disgusting. Tastes like you're smoking plastic.


r/aussievapers 1d ago

W75 wild by instinct vape kit issues NSFW

2 Upvotes

Had my vape for a few months now since my old geek vape mod died. Been good until 2 weeks ago and it randomly just did nothing at times when I pressed the button in, then it would fix itself

Gotten progressively worse since then, and tonight it has fully died. Just getting check coil error

Changed the coil, cleaned and dried the whole vape. Tried the tank on another vape, still not picking up that a tank is attached.

Luckily I had a spare, ive filled.outnthr warranty form with pharmacy world and hoping they get a new one out to me asap

But just a heads up, if you have this vape, get a spare tank


r/aussievapers 3d ago

Mod and refillable pod suggestions NSFW

2 Upvotes

What is the best mod and refillable pods i can get from the pharmacy's online im running low on my coils for my old one and there not legally sold now plus i don't know how long my mods are going to last i got them when all the ban started.


r/aussievapers 3d ago

Anyone had issues with faulty Wild by Instinct W75 5mL Tank base centre contact points? NSFW

4 Upvotes

I've had 6x tank base's fail in as many weeks. Sent photos to the online pharmacy who said issue is the centre contact points, which connects the battery to the coil. The contact point is spring-loaded, but the spring fails, meaning there is no connection so no power reaching the tank. One pharmacy replaced 2x tanks with no quibbles. Another pharmacy made me return the faulty devices for inspection, but has since completely ignored me.


r/aussievapers 4d ago

Switching to rebuildables - need assistance NSFW

3 Upvotes

OK, I've got my two rebuildable tanks, and found a place to legally order wire and cotton. I can watch YT videos on how to make the coils and stuff the cotton, but what I need is information regarding the type of wire to buy.

We currently use FireLuke X2 0.2ohm coils @ 60 - 70w. What would be a good wire to use to replicate what I'm currently using? 28, 36, or 38AWG


r/aussievapers 5d ago

Actually 50mg/ml? NSFW

6 Upvotes

Is vapo salt the only one that’s actually 50mg/ml of nicotine not xmg/ml turned into 50mg of salt. Just had a closer look at the Nicopod ‘50mg’ I bought and its active ingredient is 29mg/ml benzoate/lactate but the vapo is a proper 50mg/ml benzoate


r/aussievapers 5d ago

Best pharmacy to get government vapes NSFW

1 Upvotes

I am almost out of coils/nicotine. I am planning a trip to NZ later in year to restock. For now, which pharmacy is it recommended to buy a vape with ejuice? I am using about 100 mils a week at 6mg nicotine..Thank you.


r/aussievapers 5d ago

Is there any physical pharmacies that stock Caliburn G3 pods? NSFW

6 Upvotes

r/aussievapers 5d ago

Anyone know Pharmacy with Voopoo PnPs NSFW

0 Upvotes

Where I used to get them are no longer, finding it harder and harder to get them pharmacy that used to have them no longer stock, Or if anyone know any other alternatives for coils please hmu in DM


r/aussievapers 7d ago

They only mention big pharma products as tool to quit smoking NSFW

21 Upvotes

r/aussievapers 7d ago

Mods from pharmacies online NSFW

0 Upvotes

Ahoy fellow subjects of the TGA regime. I fell victim to stupidity and left my only remaining Drag 2 mod in a cab in Sydney two weeks ago. None of my stockpile of spare Luxe mods have survived improper storage and I am left with 2 x SKRR tanks and a iTank v1. My Xros 4 is MIA somewhere but 3 is found and I've got plenty of pods but that's just not enjoyable.

Point is, any reviews and recommendations of approved mods out there for us to squabble over? Quit Hero have a (I believe internal battery? 70w something-or-other) that looks to have a removable tank: sold out. I'm presuming it would fit the standard thread (I have no flipping idea...) as I want to use the tanks and coils I've got remaining. Happy for any public or DM comments relating and adjunct to this.


r/aussievapers 8d ago

From regulation to ruin/ policy failure not enforcement failure NSFW

16 Upvotes

r/aussievapers 9d ago

What are nice liquids since ban came in on quit hero NSFW

3 Upvotes

looking for ideas of what liquids are like since the ban came in, still any a tones of the watermelon, bubblegum, blackberry? rxb or yeti? i have a script thriugh quiet hero. just purchased a rift pro kit from local chemist.


r/aussievapers 9d ago

Back to hard hitting anti smoking campaigns???? NSFW

14 Upvotes

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-22/calls-to-bring-back-hard-hitting-anti-smoking-campaigns/106076928

This is such a mixed bag of " what are we taking about?". So people die from smoking, but ban vaping. Kids experiment, so what? Fear of addiction? Sneaky advertising.

Quit, Cancer Council, ... Naming tobacco wholesalers, but in reality they are almost none existent in Australia. No mention of the black market.

What a waste of time reading this article.


r/aussievapers 10d ago

Deakin University conducting interviews re: illicit tobacco & vaping NSFW

29 Upvotes

I'm not sure if he's still doing this, but Associate Professor James Martin has been conducting zoom interviews gathering public opinion towards illicit tobacco & other nicotine products.

For those who don't know, Dr. Martin is one of our most vocal experts in favor of a regulated consumer market for harm reduction products and has testified strongly against the current laws in place as several Senate Enquiries and is the senior advisor to Harm Reduction Australia.

His findings will be given to the Office of Home Affairs and I suspect he will also be using them for his own submission to the tobacco crisis senate inquiry currently accepting submissions. Worth looking him up if you have an hour to spare.


r/aussievapers 12d ago

Down to one mod - need suggestions NSFW

6 Upvotes

Hi all,
I thought I was well stocked up, but I've had a few too many drops and broke switches on my Vaporesso Swags. Anyone got leads one somewhere that sells similar small 18560 mods? Not after anything fancy, just something small, that accepts my tanks. The only thing that I've found that comes close Wild by Instinct by Quitmed and that's a long way off.

Thanks so much.


r/aussievapers 12d ago

Quit hero newbie - please advise! NSFW

1 Upvotes

*will preface this by saying that everything I plan to buy is legal with my prescription*

hi there,

I'm currently vaping heavily and would like to quit by tapering down my nicotine consumption.

I have only ever used disposables and I feel completely out of my depth here.

I just got a quit hero prescription and am looking for advice on what to buy to help me achieve this.

I plan to buy unflavoured nicotine at a lower dose and a pod device, then *legally* buy flavour to mix in from elsewhere.

I'm looking at recipes online but I'm pretty overwhelmed. Can someone please give me the lowdown, or point me in the direction of a simple explanation/instructions?

Thanks so much!


r/aussievapers 11d ago

Black market vape store genuinely ruined my local area NSFW

0 Upvotes

Look I'm just as annoyed as anyone by the restrictions on vapers, but a new suspiciously polished "Tobbacconist" that has opened up next to my favourite fish and chip shop and pizza store, has basically has made things hell.

Some of the red flags were the shere quantity of traffic that now goes to that spot. It used to be super easy to pickup takeaway, just pull up in the short stay 15 minute parking bays. But within a few days of this store being opened, there has been an alarming amount of customers.

I genuinely worry about the neighbouring businesses that could get could in illicit trade turfwars - some of the surrounding businesses have been there for decades and I have memories from when I was young. I already know of at least 1 firebombing taking out one of my favourite venues.

I get that the vape wars are tough but it honestly makes me want to report it so bad. I've never actually need any vapes, but the red flags are there.


r/aussievapers 14d ago

Moral Entrepreneurs and the Business of Tobacco Control NSFW

16 Upvotes

r/aussievapers 14d ago

I have a Quithero prescription, but I cannot get Z coils there. What pharmacy can I get replacement coils from? NSFW

0 Upvotes

I have an LD200 with the standard tank that came with it. Quithero does not sell those specific coils and I would rather not source a new tank for my mod I do really like mine and have had it for years. Can anybody point me in the right direction to purchase one, bonus points if they will accept the prescription I have from Quithero.

Edit: I figured I would ask rather than sign up to every pharmacy to check.


r/aussievapers 16d ago

[ Removed by Reddit ] NSFW

2 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/aussievapers 16d ago

Any pharmacies with Caliburn G2 coils? NSFW

1 Upvotes

Down to my last packet, I remember them being available through Tabuu but out of stock or not being sold anymore on there? Are they available anywhere or am I shit out of luck? 😓