Australian Black Market Vape Sales Likely Exceed 10 Million Monthly, Despite TGA Clarification

By Pippa Starr

28 June 2025

The number of vapes sold in Australia may be significantly higher than 10 million per month, despite recent efforts by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to clarify reports on the scale of the black market.

On 27 June 2025, the TGA issued a public statement refuting claims circulating in the media that it had estimated over 10 million vapes are sold monthly in Australia. The agency clarified that this figure originated from a third-party submission during a consultation process, later released under a Freedom of Information request — not from the TGA itself.

“The TGA does not hold information on the number of illicit vapes sold in Australia, and reports that suggest otherwise are inaccurate,” the statement reads.

However, experts warn that this clarification should not be interpreted as evidence that the true figure is lower. On the contrary, many in the public health and harm reduction community believe the actual number may be substantially higher, driven by Australia’s restrictive prescription-only vaping model, a policy that critics argue has fuelled a booming black market.

According to Pippa Starr Director of ALIVE, an Australian expert in tobacco harm reduction, the illicit vape trade is thriving under current laws. Starr states that "Australia’s prescription-only/pharmacy regulatory model of vaping has produced a thriving black market controlled by criminal networks".

The absence of reliable national data on illicit vape sales underscores the urgent need for a regulated retail model, argues Starr. "A tightly regulated consumer market with licensed outlets and strict age verification would not only protect youth but also ensure product safety and transparency," she said.

The Australian Government has recently allocated funding to the TGA to begin collecting data on the legal supply of therapeutic vaping goods.

Documents obtained by The Advertiser under the Freedom of Information Act show pharmacists submitted only an average of 5932 supply notifications per month between October and April under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)’s SAS C S3 system.

While there are more than 5900 pharmacies across the country, only about 700 are participating in the scheme each month.

The government’s vape scheme is in disarray with new figures revealing just one in every 1686 vape sales, excluding those involving prescriptions, occur legally through a pharmacy.

The scale of Australia's black market remains speculative, yet likely underreported.

"The chemists never wanted to stock vapes yet this arrogant health minister we have just rushed laws through trying to politically posture rather than take a pragmatic approach!"

said a passionate Mrs Starr.

Pharmacists have been quoted saying “We’ve sold one vape … one vape in under nine months” and "There's just no point anymore to stocking vapes when they don't sell".

One Brisbane pharmacist when asked if they stock vapes said to me, "just go over there to the tobacconist, they have them, we're not interested in stocking them!"

Where to from here?

Australia deserves an urgent review and a thorough investigation on this debacle because policy on the run like this that has clearly failed is not only feeding billions of dollars into crime syndicates, it's bad for the health of Australian's and our economy!