Can You Buy Disposable Vapes in Australia?

If you’re a smoker, there’s a good chance that you’re aware of vaping.

21:38 18 May 2022

and if you’ve followed the vaping industry at all, you’re probably also aware of the fact that disposable vapes are extremely popular these days. They’re so popular, in fact, that they’ve contributed significantly to the popularity of vaping as a whole by helping millions of people around the world switch from smoking to vaping who may not have otherwise made the switch successfully.

In this article, we’ll spend a bit of time explaining why disposable vapes are so popular and why they can potentially help you transition away from tobacco products even if you tried vaping in the past and weren’t able to quit smoking successfully. After that, we’ll provide the information that you need in order to buy disposable vapes in Australia. As you’ve most likely noticed when browsing your local Australian vape shops, disposable vapes are available in those stores, but they lack the one ingredient that you want most when you’re trying to quit smoking: nicotine. Reading this article, you’re going to learn why that is – and what you need to do to get what you want.

What Are Disposable Vapes? An Overview

A disposable vape is a pre-charged and pre-filled vaping device that’s ready to use right out of the package and will continue working until it either runs out of e-liquid or battery power. Most disposable vapes are puff activated, which helps to lend a level of authenticity to the vaping experience; you use a disposable vape in the same way that you would smoke a cigarette.

Disposable Vapes Are Available in Many Flavours

There are several reasons why disposable vapes have become so popular after years of being ignored by most vapers. The first reason is flavour. While most e-cigarette companies only offered disposable vapes in tobacco and menthol flavours in the past, the devices are now available in dozens of flavours to suit any taste. That has helped them rise dramatically in popularity.

Disposable Vapes Provide More Satisfaction

The second reason why disposable vapes have become so much more popular is because they’re more satisfying today than they were in the past. Where nicotine strengths aren’t limited by law, it’s possible to find disposable e-cigarettes in strengths as high as 50 mg/ml – that’s about as much nicotine per puff as you’d get from smoking a tobacco cigarette. The disposable e-cigarettes of the past delivered less than half the nicotine of today’s models, making them significantly less satisfying.

Disposable Vapes Last Longer and Are More Affordable

The final reason why disposable vapes have catapulted into the mainstream of the vaping industry in recent years is because they’ve become much more affordable to use than they were in the past. They cost about the same as they always have, but they deliver hundreds of puffs per device – as much as several packs of cigarettes. The tiny disposable e-cigarettes of the past, on the other hand, typically delivered a maximum of about 100 puffs each.

Why Is It So Hard to Find Disposable Vapes in Australia?

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is actually possible to buy disposable vapes in Australia. You’ll find, however, that the devices contain no nicotine. Although vape shops in Australia are free to sell nicotine-free vaping products, e-liquid with nicotine isn’t available through standard retail channels because liquid nicotine is a controlled substance according to Australian regulations. The only way to buy e-liquid with nicotine in Australia is by buying it from a compounding pharmacy. The problem, though, is that a compounding pharmacy won’t have disposable vapes. There is, however, a second option – and that’s what we’re going to discuss next.

How to Buy Disposable Vapes in Australia

Although liquid nicotine is a controlled substance in Australia, it does have therapeutic value in that it can help you quit smoking – which is obviously the reason why vaping exists. To show that you require nicotine for a therapeutic purpose and buy e-liquid legally, you need to obtain a doctor’s prescription. That’s the first requirement to buy disposable vapes with nicotine in Australia: You need a prescription. Thankfully, many doctors across Australia have gotten on board with the idea of vaping as a way to help people quit smoking, so obtaining a prescription shouldn’t be too much trouble.

The second requirement for buying disposable vapes with nicotine in Australia is that you’ll need to import the devices from an overseas seller. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia has that provision in place for controlled substances that have therapeutic use but are difficult to obtain locally. Vaping products meet those qualifications because they aren’t produced within the country and therefore must be imported. The legal framework covering that provision is called the Therapeutic Goods Administration Personal Importation Scheme. Here are the requirements.

• You must obtain a prescription for nicotine from a doctor. The prescription must match the nicotine strength of the products that you intend to import, which for most disposable vapes is 50 mg/ml. Note that there is absolutely no way to avoid this requirement. An overseas vape shop that’s set up to comply with Australian vaping laws will ask you to provide a picture of your prescription. You may also be asked to show your prescription when you pick the products up.
  
  
• Find an overseas vape shop that understands Australian vaping regulations and knows how to comply with them. You’ll have the best luck – and will also enjoy the quickest shipping times – if you buy from a vape shop located in New Zealand. You can find a reliable source of disposable vapes in Australia by clicking the link at the top of this article.
  
  
• Choose and order your disposable vapes. You’ll quickly discover that there are many disposable vapes on the market today and that they’re available in a wide variety of tasty flavours. Although you might initially want to try a tobacco or menthol flavour to replace the cigarettes you’re currently smoking, you should know that most disposable vapes don’t attempt to mimic the flavour of cigarettes at all because that’s not actually what most people prefer. Most vapers prefer sweet flavours such as fruit and candy. If you buy a good variety of different flavours, you’ll discover what your own preferences are.