Vaping is the healthy alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. In Australia:
- vape products are classified as tobacco products
- selling, gifting, bartering liquid nicotine is prohibited
- cannabis is prohibited as a recreational drug
According to health.gov.au, nicotine is classified as a "legal drug" however going to your local vape shop and asking for premixed nicotine-containing juices is out of the question.
Since September 2019, the media has released a number of articles regarding lung illnesses and even deaths from vaping - 2,500 affected persons. All these reported illnesses came from illicit THC (tetrahydracannabinol) vape cartridges that contained traces of Vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E is used in nutritional supplements and skin creams, and is not safe to inhale. As a result, nicotine-styled vapes were at the forefront of these articles.
According to Public Health England, e-cigarettes were concluded as 95% less harmful than traditional cigarette smoking. The ingredients of e-liquid is vegetable glycerin (found in consumable products like ice cream, frozen yogurt, and even pharmaceutical medications) which is used as a thickener to create vapour production, and propylene glycol (found in consumable products like cake mixes, soft drinks, and bread) which is a thinner liquid agent used as a flavour carrier in e-liquid.