On 30 November 2018 the TGA sought comments from interested parties on a consultation paper titled 'Regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites – seeking public feedback'.
This consultation was initiated at the request of the delegate of the Secretary of the Department of Health, after consideration of public submissions received in response to the delegate's interim decision on the scheduling of alkyl nitrites, published on the TGA's website on 10 September 2018, and the advice of a joint sitting of the Advisory Committees on Chemicals and Medicines Scheduling (Joint ACMS-ACCS #20) on 8 November 2018.
The closing date for written submissions on the consultation paper was 15 January 2019. A total of 40 public submissions were received.
As part of the consultation process, the TGA held two public meetings, on 31 January 2019 in Sydney, and 7 February 2019 in Melbourne. The Sydney meeting was conducted in partnership with the Kirby Institute and 29 people recorded their attendance. The Melbourne meeting was co-hosted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (La Trobe University) and 43 people recorded their attendance.
A question and answer document was provided to attendees prior to the public meetings.
Public meeting communique: Regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites summarises the outcomes of the public meetings.
Final decision regarding scheduling of alkyl nitrites
The delegate's final decision on the scheduling of alkyl nitrites was published on the TGA's website on 6 June 2019.
The TGA Laboratories have analysed samples of alkyl nitrite 'Poppers' available for purchase both within Australia and from overseas. The purpose of this testing was to confirm the identity of the alkyl nitrites being used in the products and to compare the results to the labelled ingredients. The results were published on the TGA's website on 6 June 2019.
- Consultation/discussion paper: Regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites
- Further public consultation on appropriate access and safety controls (Poisons Standard schedule) for alkyl nitrites
- Public submissions on regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites
- Regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites - Public meeting questions and answers
- Public meeting communique: Regulatory options for appropriate access and safety controls for alkyl nitrites summarises the outcomes of the both public meetings.