An Australian vape seller is advising customers who want e-liquid containing nicotine to buy it from New Zealand.
It's illegal to buy e-liquid containing nicotine in Australia.
Kyle Moffat of Vape Industries, which sells flavours ranging from apple to bloody mary, says business has been booming in the last couple of months.
He advises his customers to order nicotine-containing products from New Zealand and mix their own flavours.
He's calling for less regulation around the promotion of vaping in Australia, where some vaping retailers have run into trouble with a consumer watchdog.
"We claim it's scientifically proven to be 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes. A lot of people want to get off the cigarettes, they want to save a lot of money," Mr Moffat told the ABC's PM show.
But some of his competitors have been targeted by Australia's consumer watchdog the ACCC.
The PM show reported that three online e-cigarette retailers have been fined a total of $186,000 (NZD) for making false and misleading claims about vaping products.
The ACCC says it took the action after the businesses suggested that their vaping products didn't contain harmful carcinogens and toxins.
Acting Chair Delia Rikard said consumers are being led to believe that e-cigarettes don't contain toxins.
"In fact they contain things like formaldehyde and acrolein, which are known carcinogens," she said.
"We want to put the sector on notice that you can't mislead consumers, and put consumers on notice that these products can contain carcinogenic and unhealthy substances and are probably best avoided."
In March the New Zealand Government announced it would change the law to legalise the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquid.
Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner acknowledged at the time that some retailers were already selling the products, and no one has been charged for buying or selling them.
The legal changes are expected to come into force in late 2018.
Newshub.
