Court proceedings initiated against Prefixx Pty Ltd and its director for alleged unlawful advertising of nicotine vaping products

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has commenced court proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Prefixx Pty Ltd and its sole director, Mr Brad Anthonisz, for alleged unlawful advertising of nicotine vaping products.

It is alleged the company and its director were responsible for unlawful advertising of nicotine vaping products on their websites and social media pages. Nicotine vaping products are prescription only medicines which are prohibited from being advertised to the public.

Despite being warned by the TGA about their alleged non-compliant advertising, Mr Anthonisz failed to take adequate steps to stop their ongoing advertising and continued sell nicotine vaping products for some months.

The Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 applies to any business that undertakes interstate trade in Australia, or between Australia and internationally. Despite moving to host the website overseas, Prefixx Pty Ltd continued to have responsibilities under the Act, including with respect to any advertising directed at Australians.

The changes to the regulation of nicotine vaping products were implemented to prevent young people from taking up nicotine vaping (and potentially smoking), and to protect consumers from toxic ingredients that nicotine vaping products may contain.

Nicotine vaping products purchased unlawfully could be counterfeit or contain undeclared and hazardous active ingredients which can cause serious harm to users and may also not have the required child safety packaging.

Further information about the alleged advertising breaches is available in the following documents:

• Originating Application (pdf,552kb)
• Concise Statement (pdf,834kb)

If you suspect non-compliance in relation to therapeutic goods, you can report illegal or questionable practices online to the TGA. The TGA encourages the reporting of suspected non-compliant advertising.