In the absence of guidance from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), authors writing in the Medical Journal of Australia have provided advice to GPs about prescribing e-liquids for e-cigarettes to smokers trying to quit tobacco cigarettes.
Dr. Miranda Ween, a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Associate Professor Alexander Larcombe, of Curtin University and the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre, and Dr. David Chapman, from the University of Technology Sydney, wrote that although the TGA had released a Standard for Nicotine Vaping Products (TGO 110) effective from 1 October 2021, the order “does not refer to e-cigarettes themselves (which remain unapproved by the TGA as smoking cessation devices), but rather the nicotine-containing liquids (e-liquids) used in them.”
Since 1 October, e-cigarette users can only legally access e-liquids containing nicotine locally with a prescription from an authorized prescriber or via a special access scheme through an Australian pharmacist registered to supply nicotine.
“TGO 110 provides no guidance to GPs as to how to manage e-cigarette prescriptions, but Royal Australian College of General Practitioners guidelines advise that doctors should promote approved nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and proven pharmaceutical therapies accompanied by behavioral support before considering e-cigarettes,” the authors wrote.
Medical Journal Australia – 2021-11-29.
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