title: E-cigarettes and the law in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Australian laws covering electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are complex and vary between jurisdictions. The supply of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes in Australia is illegal. Possession or use of nicotine in e-cigarettes without approval is also illegal and the sale of non-nicotine e-cigarettes is illegal in some states. Despite the current legal barriers, the use of e-cigarettes by Australian smokers has increased over recent years.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article summarises these laws, recent cases involving e-cigarettes and what is known about their safety and efficacy as cessation aids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Australian medical practitioners are likely to be asked about e-cigarettes by patients who smoke and may be interested in using them to quit smoking. The efficacy of e-cigarettes as a cessation aid has not been fully established. The health risk of long-term use is also unknown, although it is probably less than that of smoking cigarettes. There is an urgent need for research on the health effects of e-cigarettes and their use in quitting smoking.
authors.affiliation: LLB, LLM, PhD, Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Coral
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gartner
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003376:Counseling; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D058006:General Practice; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*