Sydney-based company Mason Online Pty Ltd fined $106,560 for alleged advertising breaches of nicotine vaping products

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued eight infringement notices totalling $106,560 to Mason Online Pty Ltd for alleged unlawful advertising of nicotine vaping products.

Advertisers are reminded to give proper consideration to guidance and warnings issued to them by the TGA. Where the TGA requests a person to review their website and remove all non-compliant advertising, it is not enough for the website to be redirected to an overseas domain or for references to a locally based bricks and mortar store to be removed from the website. The TGA reminds advertisers of the recent warning not to engage in deceptive conduct.

Mason Online allegedly advertised the use and supply of nicotine vaping products on its websites and failed to come into compliance. The infringement notices relate to one of the company’s websites that advertised more than 400 individual nicotine vaping products. It is alleged that Mason Online was responsible for multiple websites.

Under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, vaping products that contain nicotine are prescription only medicines and cannot be advertised to the Australian public. Nicotine is a Schedule 4 prescription only substance included in the Poisons Standard. The TGA has published comprehensive information about nicotine vaping products.

Compliance and enforcement

The TGA considers advertising breaches of nicotine vaping products a very serious matter and is taking prompt and appropriate action to ensure compliance with the law. The TGA's nicotine vaping products compliance and enforcement plan sets out an intelligence-informed, risk-based approach. Other recent compliance action includes:

• RV Global Ecommerce Pty Ltd was fined $39,960 for alleged unlawful advertising of nicotine vaping products.
• A Melbourne-based individual was fined $18,648 for alleged advertising breaches in relation to nicotine vaping products.
• An individual based in Melbourne was fined $7,992 for alleged unlawful importation of nicotine vaping products.

Consumer information

The TGA has published information for consumers on how to legally access nicotine vaping products, following consultation and a prescription from their doctor, as a treatment to help stop smoking.

The TGA advises consumers that if they are considering buying nicotine vaping products online it is important to be careful, especially when the seller does not ask for a valid prescription. Consumers are encouraged to ask the overseas supplier questions about the ingredients, packaging, labelling and manufacturing of the product.

The TGA encourages the reporting of suspected non-compliant advertising.

If you suspect non-compliance in relation to therapeutic goods more broadly, you can report illegal or questionable practices online to the TGA.