Pharmacies are banned from selling vapes as aids to quit smoking, the SA Pharmacy Council registrar Vincent Tlale said, with the products now added to an already prohibited list of products like guns, alcohol and tobacco.
The council had released proposed amendments to the rules of good pharmacy practice for public comment in March, adding electronic nicotine delivery devices and electronic non-nicotine delivery devices to the list of products already banned – interested parties had until 28 May to submit comments.
The council’s move is in line with the draft Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which seeks to bring e-cigarettes under the same regulatory control as tobacco products and was triggered by queries from pharmacies asking if they could sell vapes and refills, said Tlale.
The decision has disappointed the Vaping Association of SA (Vpasa), reports Business Day, which said the decision was regrettable and ignored scientific evidence showing vaping was more successful at helping smokers quit than the nicotine aids currently sold in pharmacies.
“While the (council) is within rights to regulate what its members can and cannot sell, their intended action… perpetuates the wrong narrative… that vaping is the same as tobacco. The industry is missing an opportunity to be part of this massive change where smokers are taking an initiative by themselves to find alternatives to meet their nicotine needs without exposing themselves to the harms of tobacco,” Vpasa CEO Asanda Gcoyi said.
The Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA), which represents more than 1 200 independently owned pharmacies, said it supported the decision.
The ICPA was concerned the public would perceive vapes sold in pharmacies as having their stamp of approval, yet these products were not scrutinised by regulators and had not been proved to be safe, ICPA CEO Jackie Maimin said.
“When products are stocked in pharmacies, it’s assumed they’ve been vetted or recommended by pharmacists and are healthy or beneficial. This assumption couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to tobacco and nicotine-related products,” she said.
Pharmacies would, however, be open to selling vapes if they were approved as smoking-cessation devices by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), and sold on prescription, she added.
The Tobacco Bill was submitted to Parliament in 2023, but lapsed because the National Assembly did not finish work on it before Parliament concluded its business just before last week’s general election.
BusinessLIVE article – Pharmacy Council moves to ban sale of vapes in pharmacies (Restricted access)
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