Pharmacy-Only Vaping Model Failing as Three-Quarters of Pharmacies Refuse to Stock Products
- Pippa Starr
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8 2025
Pharmacy-Only Vaping Model Failing as Three-Quarters of Pharmacies Refuse to Stock Products
New data from a survey of 332 Australian pharmacies has revealed the collapse of the government’s Pharmacy-Only Vaping Model, with the vast majority of pharmacies refusing to participate.
Under current regulations, adult smokers can legally access nicotine vaping products only through pharmacies and with a prescription. But this restrictive model is breaking down at the most basic level: pharmacies aren’t interested.
Key findings:
•248 pharmacies (74.7%) do not stock any vaping products.
•Of these, only 44 (18%) are willing to order products on request.
•Just 84 pharmacies (26%) currently have any vaping products available in-store.
•Among those stocking products, the range is minimal — only 40 listings in total, covering a handful of brands.
•45% of the available products are supplied by Big Tobacco companies.
This data paints a stark picture: the government’s Pharmacy-Only Model is unworkable. It assumes pharmacies will step up to provide smokers with safer alternatives — but the majority have simply opted out. Many are unwilling to deal with the paperwork, confusion, or perceived reputational risk, and others are actively hostile to the products.
“This is not a harm reduction strategy — it’s a policy failure,” said Pippa Starr, a leading tobacco harm reduction advocate. “The government has locked safer alternatives behind pharmacy counters, then failed to ensure those counters are open. It’s smokers and ex-smokers who are paying the price.”
Australia is now one of the only countries in the world where adult smokers must navigate a medicalised, tightly restricted path to access nicotine vapes — while cigarettes remain available at every corner store.
“Pharmacies are sending a clear message: they don’t want to be part of this model. But instead of fixing the system, the government is doubling down,” Pippa Starr added. “We need immediate reform — starting with removing the Pharmacy Only requirement and allowing licensed vape retailers to meet demand responsibly.”
Despite frequently attacking Big Tobacco in public, Health Minister Mark Butler has effectively handed control of Australia’s legal vaping market to a black market. One in three products now comes from the very industry the Minister claims to oppose.
And as legal access dries up, consumers are increasingly turning to the unregulated black market — fuelling a parallel industry with no quality control, no age checks, and no consumer protections.
Quotes of some of the vapers who completed the Pharmacy Survey:
1. "Four of ten don’t stock. One only stocks Veev pods. Have to order the device. I can’t see any reason I would buy from a brick-and-mortar pharmacy."
2. "Three said they could order it in but none had stock. Not exactly convenient."
3. "One had no idea what I was talking about. Just gave me a blank stare."
4. "Another pushed me toward patches and gum instead. Didn’t even offer to help with the vape."
5. It’s clear they’re not set up for this. No knowledge, no stock, no interest.
6. "Asked if they sold nicotine vapes—the pharmacist said, “We don’t support that here.”
7. "They say pharmacies make it more accessible but in practice, it’s the opposite."
8. "One hadn’t even heard of the prescription model. Still thought it was illegal."
9. "Felt more like a guilt trip than a shopping trip."
ALIVE Advocacy MovementContact:
Pippa Starr (Director/Media Spokesperson)