Enforcement of illicit tobacco and nicotine e-cigarette laws

Penalties for retailer​​​​s 

NSW Health Inspectors visit retailers to check compliance with tobacco retailing laws. This includes checking if illicit tobacco, illegal vaping goods or other illegal products containing nicotine are being sold.

Illegal vaping goods

It is illegal for retailers other than pharmacies (e.g. tobacconists, convenience stores, petrol stations) to sell any type of vaping good (vapes, e-cigarettes, e-liquids and e-cigarette accessories), regardless of its nicotine content.

There are strong new penalties in NSW for retailers illegally selling vaping goods.

Maximum penalties for illegally supplying vaping goods are up to 7 years imprisonment, a fine of $1.54 million, or both. 

Other illega​​l nicotine products

NSW Health can prosecute retailers for selling e-cigarette, e-liquids and other products that contain nicotine. The maximum penalty is a $1,650 fine, 6 months in prison, or both.

Tobacco retailing offences including sale of illicit tobacco

Penalties apply for a number of offences under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008. These offences include supplying tobacco without mandatory health warnings or in non-​compliant packaging, failure to comply with display and advertising restrictions, and sale of tobacco and non-tobacco smoking products to minors.

Maximum penalties for a range of tobacco retailing offences have been significantly increased, including selling tobacco not in the required packaging or without mandatory health warnings, which now carries a maximum penalty of up to $154,000 for individuals and $770,000 for corporations.​

For further information see penalties and enforcement. ​

Illegal nicotine e-cigarettes seized

NSW Health has seen an increase in the number of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, or labelled as containing nicotine, being sold by retailers. This includes disposable devices, with brands such as HQD H -Bar, IGet XXL, IGET Bar Plus, IGet Goat, GunnPod, Relx, G Shot Giant, Waka Smash and Waka SoMatch.

This table shows the quarterly data for seizures of e-cigarette and e-liquid products containing nicotine or labelled as containing nicotine by NSW Health officers.

*Data changes have been applied to provide the most up to date records for these time periods. The total number of seizures in each quarter includes ongoing investigations, which have inputs that may vary upon the investigation’s conclusion. Variations in new data are updated quarterly.​

Prosecutions for illegal sales of nicotine containing e-cigarettes

This table lists the prosecutions for illegal sale of nicotine containing e-cigarettes and other nicotine products, following investigation and seizures by Authorised Officers in NSW Health. It shows the number of successful prosecutions in each quarter.

*Due to the timing of prosecutions and court procedures, final outcome data may be delayed and therefore will take longer to update the figures on the website.