New national laws to strengthen controls on the importation, manufacture, and supply of all e-cigarette products are now in place.
All e-cigarettes & e-liquids (with and without nicotine) and e-cigarette accessories can now only be supplied by a pharmacist, medical practitioner, or nurse practitioner.
For more information visit the TGA Vaping Hub
Research shows that tobacco displays can influence children’s perceptions about the availability and accessibility of cigarettes in their community and can also make it harder for people to quit. The law bans the display of e-cigarette and accessories to protect children and young people from any potential risks that e-cigarettes may pose.
Retailers need to ensure that tobacco and e-cigarette products cannot be seen by the public from inside or outside the premises. This applies to vending machines in the same fashion as all other storage solutions. The exceptions are where:
It is also acknowledged that retailers may need to periodically restock their storage units and that there may be some unavoidable, inadvertent display of tobacco and e-cigarette products during this time (See the Frequently Asked Questions section below).
There are a variety of ways in which premises retailing tobacco products, non-tobacco smoking products, smoking accessories, e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories may be configured. In all cases these products must not be seen by members of the public from inside or outside the premises.
Different types of retail outlets may require different storage configurations for their tobacco or e-cigarette products. Some retailers may need to change their storage units to ensure that products are kept out of sight. Any option that could allow people to see tobacco or e-cigarette products during business operating hours, including incidental exposure, is not allowed.
Some general tips for retailers are provided below:
For more information about some of these tips, please see the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
Retailers may choose only one method to display basic information about tobacco and e-cigarette products, such as prices and names, through the use of:
Retailers may use one or the other of the above methods but NOT both. Therefore the same method of displaying prices and names of product lines must be used for all product lines carried by the business.
The use of tobacco, smoking and e-cigarette product catalogues is not allowed. Information about how prices of tobacco or e-cigarette products may be displayed is contained in the Public Health (Tobacco) Regulation 2022.
If retailers choose to use price tickets, they must ensure that they:
If retailers choose to use a board to display prices, they must ensure that they only use one and it must:
Answer: “Tobacco products”, “non-tobacco smoking products”, “smoking accessories”, “e-cigarettes” and “e-cigarette accessories” are all required to be kept out of sight of customers and other people inside or outside the premises.
Answer: Retailers may consider a range of different storage arrangements to meet their obligations under the law. Further information and images are available on Tobacco and e-cigarette storage options webpage.
In storing tobacco products, retailers will choose an arrangement that suits their business needs, but must also ensure that the arrangements comply with the law.
Public-facing cupboards with opening doors generally mean that opening a cupboard in order to select a particular item would also involve displaying the tobacco products or e-cigarette products stored in the cupboard. This means that there is likely to be a substantial and repeated display of products throughout business hours. This would place retailers at a higher risk of prosecution.
Retailers choosing to use such an arrangement need to recognise the greater risk and take appropriate action to reduce it. For example by training staff, placing cupboards in a location which is not facing the public; using cupboards, with a larger number of smaller doors; using self-closing cupboard doors, using curtains or other shrouding behind any cupboard doors, or looking at more cautious designs such as “flipper arrangements” which conceal almost all of the surface of the product package, but still allow access to the products for sales purposes.
Drawers and shelves may also be used, as long as the products are shielded from view by covering any transparent surfaces with a covering material. The issues to consider in relation to cupboards also apply to drawers and shelves, including placement of storage units.
Roller doors and security devices can be used to ensure products are kept safely. However, due to the greater risk of such devices being left open, it may be appropriate to use mechanisms other than roller doors and security devices to comply with the limitations on displaying products.
In the event NSW Health undertakes an inspection, the efforts made to comply with the law and the nature of the work undertaken in this regard will be considered in any compliance action undertaken.
Answer: The legislation allows retailers to display tobacco products, non-tobacco smoking products and smoking accessories to a customer at the customer’s request. The same applies for e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories. The retailer should ensure that only those products requested by the customer are displayed to that customer, and products which are not purchased are returned to the storage unit before completing the transaction and moving to the next transaction.
Answer: Some retailers use a diagram underneath the counter for staff use only that assists staff with locating the requested product (without having to physically open each door).
Answer: The legislation expressly allows for the display of a tobacco or e-cigarette product to a customer at his or her request and NSW Health interprets this to include for the duration of any relevant transaction with the customer. Once the transaction is complete there is no prohibition on the customer displaying his or her tobacco or e-cigarette product or products and no retailer liability if a customer does so.
Answer: Retailers undertaking restocking of their storage units should ensure that exposure of tobacco products, non-tobacco smoking products, smoking accessories, e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories to customers is minimised. It is understood that some unavoidable exposure to products may occur during restocking, however retailers should take care to actively minimise the exposure of tobacco or e-cigarette products to the public, whether inside or outside the premises.
Answer: From time to time storage units will need to be replaced or repaired. At these times, retailers should take care to ensure that exposure of products to customers is minimised. For example, repairs could be made during hours when the store is not open to customers, or products could be removed while repairs are made. Retailers should not allow any broken storage units, which allow the display of products to customers and other people, to remain unrepaired.
Answer: NSW Health is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008. NSW Health inspectors are authorised to enforce the ban on the display of tobacco, smoking and e-cigarette products in retail outlets.NSW Health uses a range of strategies to encourage and enhance compliance including advice, formal warning notices, penalty notices or prosecution. Prosecution is generally reserved for circumstances where there have been ongoing breaches, or a serious breach, of the legislation.
The NSW Ministry of Health’s Prosecution Policy and Guidelines provide guidance on prosecutorial decisions, and clarify the nature of the issues which would be taken into account in making compliance monitoring and prosecution decisions.
