E-cigarettes are sold in Australia either as therapeutic devices, from pharmacies, for people who are attempting to quit smoking or manage their nicotine dependence, or via illicit means. The size of the illicit market in 2024 to 2025 was estimated to be 95.7% by the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner’s (ITEC) report.1
18.5.5.1 Provisions of the TGA standard for chemicals in therapeutic e-cigarettes sold in Australia
A product standard for vaping products was first implemented in Australia in 2021 (known as TGO110),2 with further amendments coming into effect in 2024 and 2025.3 The product standard details requirements for therapeutic vapes (i.e. those that can be lawfully supplied by pharmacists), including requirements for devices, ingredients, packaging and labelling. See Section 18.13.2.2 for more information about TGO110, including compliance and enforcement efforts.
E-cigarettes sold at pharmacies must comply with specific regulatory standards. They must be reusable, having controlled nicotine levels, using plain pharmaceutical packaging, and being limited to mint, menthol, or tobacco flavours.2
Active ingredients
Provisions of this standard pertaining to the active ingredients present in e-cigarettes and e-liquids are:2
“(1) A therapeutic vaping substance or a therapeutic vaping substance accessory that contains nicotine must contain nicotine as the only active ingredient.
(2) The concentration of nicotine in a therapeutic vaping substance or a therapeutic vaping substance accessory must not be more than 50 mg/mL in solution (equivalent base form).
(3) The concentration of nicotine in a therapeutic vaping substance or therapeutic vaping substance accessory must be not less than 90.0% and not more than 110.0% of the stated content.
(4) A therapeutic vaping substance or a therapeutic vaping substance accessory that does not contain nicotine must not contain any other active ingredient.”
Permitted chemicals
The permitted chemicals for use in the manufacture of therapeutic e-cigarettes are only glycerol, propylene glycol, water, nicotine and flavouring agents. The flavouring agents may only produce the mint, menthol or tobacco flavours (but not a combination, such as “tobacco mint”). The flavouring agents must not contain: 2,3-pentanedione; acetoin; benzaldehyde; cinnamaldehyde; diacetyl; or any substance that, whether heated or unheated, would pose a risk to human health. Specific details are listed in Schedule 1 of the legislation.2
Restricted chemicals
A list of restricted substances (Table 18.5.2) from the legislation is described in Schedule 2. These chemicals cannot be added as ingredients and if present, must be present at lower than the concentration listed in Table 18.5.2 and schedule 2 of the legislation.2
There is currently no information available on TGA or other testing of therapeutic e-cigarettes for the presence of these chemicals in therapeutic e-cigarettes sold in Australia.
18.5.5.2 Toxic chemicals in illicit e-cigarettes sold in Australia
Illicit cigarettes sold in Australia are all made overseas. Therefore, they may contain some of the toxic chemicals listed in Table 18.5.1 (in Section 18.5.4) or the substances prohibited in therapeutic e-cigarettes listed in Table 18.5.2.
Seventeen of the 19 prohibited substances listed in Table 18.5.2 were detected in e-liquids and/or their emissions assessed by NICNAS in its report published in 20194 and the NHMRC in its report in 2022,5 which examined vape products globally. The exceptions are NAT and NAB. However, the only chemicals found at levels higher than the limits listed in Table 18.5.2 are ethylene glycol and formaldehyde.
In Australia, tests of e-cigarettes that were confiscated in Australian secondary schools in 2022 and 2023 showed the presence of some chemicals listed in Table 18.5.1 in Section 18.5.4.6 These include acetoin, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol and ethylene glycol. These toxic chemicals were generally present at relatively low concentrations and in only a few of the e-liquids tested. Nicotine was detected at an average of 40 mg/ml (4%).6
A 2022 study of 65 fresh and aged e-liquids sold in Australia (some of which did not contain nicotine) detected a range of harmful chemicals, including:7
- benzaldehyde in 60 fresh and 61 aged e-liquids, with concentrations ranging from 11.4 ng/ml to 17.3 mg/ml,
- cinnamaldehyde in 48 fresh e-liquids (maximum 97.9 mg/ml) and 38 aged e-liquids (maximum 142.5 mg/ml)
Cinnamaldehyde is a flavouring chemical that may degrade into the toxic chemical called styrene. In laboratory experiments, cinnamaldehyde has been shown to impair the function of some immune cells, but the effects of long-term low dose exposure to cinnamaldehyde through e-cigarette use are unknown.8
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References
1. Australian Government: Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner. Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner Report 2024-25: A national picture of the illicit market., 2025. Available from: https://www.itec.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2025-12/ITEC_Commissioner-Report_2024-25.pdf.
2. Therapeutic Goods (Standard for Therapeutic Vaping Goods) (TGO110) Order 2021. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2021L00595/latest/text.
3. Therapeutic Goods Legislation Amendment (Standard for Therapeutic Vaping Goods) (TGO110) Instrument 2024 (Cth). Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01232/asmade/text
4. National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). Non-nicotine liquids for e-cigarette devices in Australia: chemistry and health concern. Australian Government Department of Health, 2019. Available from: https://www.industrialchemicals.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-08/Non-nicotine%20liquids%20for%20e-cigarette%20devices%20in%20Australia%20chemistry%20and%20health%20concerns%20%5BPDF%201.21%20MB%5D.pdf.
5. National Health and Medical Research Council. Inhalation toxicity of non-nicotine e-cigarette constituents: risk assessments, scoping review and evidence map. 2022. Available from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/file/18287/download?token=Z5D5_sam.
6. Jenkins C, Powrie F, Kelso C, and Morgan J. Chemical analysis and flavor distribution of electronic cigarettes in Australian schools. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2025; 27(6):997-1005. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39531255
7. Larcombe A, Allard S, Pringle P, Mead-Hunter R, Anderson N, et al. Chemical analysis of fresh and aged Australian e-cigarette liquids. Medical Journal of Australia, 2022; 216(1):27-32. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34528266
8. Hickman E, Herrera CA, and Jaspers I. Common e-cigarette flavoring chemicals impair neutrophil phagocytosis and oxidative burst. Chemistry Research in Toxicology, 2019; 32(6):982-5. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31117350