'Harm minimisation is a big thing': pharmacists on new vape reforms

Last month, the federal parliament passed new reforms that banned the sale of vapes in Australia with vape purchases only available at pharmacies to those with a prescription.

But the response from local pharmacists to the new laws has been mixed so far.

At Amcal Pharmacy Kempsey owner and pharmacist Greg Hollier said already seen an increase in customers arriving in-store the past week asking to purchase a vape.

As of July 1, pharmacies are the only establishment able to selling vapes and can only sell vapes to people with a prescription.

But later this year, pharmacists will be able to sell vapes with limited nicotine content to customers 18-years-old without a prescription once they have had a discussion with a person about the health harms as of October 1, 2024.

"So that's where the messaging has been a little bit confusing for the customers," Mr Hollier said.

"And we have had I think in the last couple of weeks probably an increase in the number of prescriptions being presented so people could obtain a nicotine vape."

Previously, some pharmacists were able to sell nicotine e-cigarettes to customers with a doctor's prescription under laws passed in 2020.

"It's a natural kind of thing for us to take on because we have been looking at improving health and harm minimisation in pharmacy for a long time," Mr Hollier said.

"And at least pharmacies are a professional place that can monitor these programmes as opposed to [people] getting them more freely."

"...as long as there's a way people can sort of look at getting off cigarettes then that's what pharmacists will probably be looking out for."

Mr Hollier said that the new vaping laws were going to increase the pharmacies workload but they had been doing nicotine replacement therapy for a long time in different versions.

When no prescriptions are needed for vapes, Mr Hollier said that pharmacists will be needing to checking to make sure customers are over 18-years-old, and the store will likely be recording information through their system so vape use can't be abused.

"Harm minimisation is a big thing in the pharmacy," he said.

"There's a whole range of different things that we've been doing for a long time.

"So we'll play our role for the health of the community when that happens."

Further down the coast, Port Macquarie pharmacist Judy Plunkett also agreed that the messaging for the new vape reforms has been confusing with people coming into her TerryWhite Chemart expecting to buy a vape without a prescription.

"That whole mixed messaging thing is because the government has made this policy without consultation with the pharmacists," Ms Plunkett said.

"And we haven't really nutted out how the whole system is going to work."

Ms Plunkett has already seen an increase in people attending her pharmacy and arriving with prescriptions for vapes.

"I feel that that's a very unrealistic sort of stance in that most of the people who are using vapes...a lot of them are not wanting to get off vapes," she said.

"We already have nicotine cessation products- people already have avenues to quit smoking..."

Ms Plunkett said she had a huge conflict with the reforms as a healthcare destination providing the public with vapes- a product that isn't included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has voiced opposition to the amendments along with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, TerryWhite Chemmart, Priceline, National Pharmacies, Blooms and other independent pharmacies.

"Most pharmacists feel extremely uncomfortable with this expectation that we will be selling vapes," Ms Plunkett said.

"And I am an after hours pharmacy- I also am concerned for the safety of my staff in those after hours situations.

"And I don't want my pharmacy turning into the Port Macquarie Smoke shop."

Ms Plunkett also questioned how pharmacists would have time to counsel customers once the second set of reforms comes into place on October 1, 2024.

"The other sort of idealistic inference by the government in this situation is that the pharmacists have time to counsel people around their use of vapes," Ms Plunkett said.