Australia's New Law Sparks Protests, With Multiple Pharmacy Brands Opposing The Sale Of E-cigarettes Without A Prescription

Australia's new law sparks protests, with multiple pharmacy brands opposing the sale of e-cigarettes without a prescription

Several major pharmacy brands in Australia oppose the new regulations on the sale of e-cigarettes without a prescription, worrying about the health risks and legal liabilities that the policy may bring, while Chemist Warehouse is still reviewing its countermeasures.

 

According to ABC News on June 28, as the new law is about to come into effect, several major pharmacy brands in Australia have stated that they will not sell e-cigarettes after the prescription requirement is cancelled.

 

Several major pharmacy brands in Australia, including TerryWhite Chemmart, Priceline Pharmacy, National Pharmacies in South Australia and 777 Group in Western Australia, have clearly opposed the new regulations on the sale of e-cigarettes without a prescription in their communications with their stakeholders.

 

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia said in a statement that Blooms and thousands of independent pharmacies also oppose the government's agreement with the Green Party to open e-cigarettes to adults from October.

 

Despite this, Chemist Warehouse, a large Australian pharmacy chain, told ABC that it is still reviewing the impact of the decision and seeking more information about how it works.

 

While the pharmacy brands say they will not actively stock e-cigarettes, technically their franchisees can decide whether to sell them.

 

Many of these brands' pharmacies already supply e-cigarettes across the country or have a licence to sell them. Earlier this week, Health Minister Mark Butler said the government would not force pharmacies to sell e-cigarettes, nor did it expect all pharmacies to do so.

 

"Of course, pharmacies are not owned by the government, so the government cannot directly dictate what they sell. Some pharmacies choose to offer methadone treatment, some do not."

 

"That's obviously a matter for individual pharmacies to decide."

 

"But I know that pharmacists across the country have been having professional discussions with their customers about smoking cessation support for a long time - they do now and they have done so before. This is another tool in the smoking cessation toolbox."

 

One of the concerns pharmacists have is that they could be held liable if a customer develops a health problem as a result of vaping after receiving advice from a pharmacist. The E-cigarette Reform Bill, which passed parliament, does not provide any immunity for pharmacists who provide e-cigarette advice.

 

However, the government argues that existing liability insurance already provides sufficiently broad coverage and that e-cigarette policies should not affect their ability to obtain insurance.

 

The Pharmacists Association also said that because there is no mechanism to monitor the dispensing of e-cigarettes by pharmacies, it means that people can easily obtain multiple e-cigarettes for themselves or others by visiting different pharmacies.

 

While prescriptions can track this information, there are systems to monitor drugs that can be obtained without a prescription, such as the Project STOP system used to track pseudoephedrine.

 

Anthony Tassone, the association's vice president, said,

 

"Pharmacists are healthcare professionals and community pharmacies are reluctant to supply this potentially harmful, highly addictive product without a prescription."

 

However, Green Party Senator Jordon Steele-John said in the Senate that he "could not accept" the association's recommendations on safety in public discussions.

 

The senator claimed that in meetings with the association, they had lobbied him to make more relaxed laws requiring e-cigarettes to be dispensed by prescription as a "Schedule 4" item, or available free over the counter as a "Schedule 2" item.

 

His suggestion was that the Guild's concern was not about whether e-cigarettes require a prescription, but about the "Schedule 3" requirement for pharmacists to talk to customers.

 

"It would be grossly disingenuous to suggest in this debate that they oppose this arrangement because of concerns about the safety of the substance."

The Guild strongly denied that they had lobbied for looser e-cigarette regulation.

 

During Question Time on Thursday, Butler brandished an e-cigarette in the House of Commons to celebrate the passage of laws he said would remove a "public health threat".

Butler brandished an e-cigarette in the House of Commons to celebrate the passage of laws he said would eliminate a "public health threat" Source: ABC News

 

"Sometimes this place has a real chance to do something meaningful and lasting for the health of young Australians," he said.

 

"Today is one of those days, and we did it."

 

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) said in a statement that banning e-cigarettes was not its first choice, but they recognized the need to act.

Its national president Fei Sim said,

 

"PSA will work with the government to support pharmacists who choose to participate in the prescribing and distribution of nicotine-containing therapeutic e-cigarettes. PSA will develop best practice guidelines describing how pharmacists can prescribe smoking cessation products, including nicotine-containing therapeutic e-cigarettes."

 

Its e-cigarette bill passed parliament on Thursday and will come into effect on Monday (July 1). Under the new law, those who illegally supply e-cigarette products will face seven years in prison or a fine of up to A$1.57 million (US$1.04 million).