More than two thousand GP’s have already requested access to a guide created to provide clarity around Australia’s new vaping landscape, and their role in assisting patients who wish to quit smoking.

Australian nicotine vaping product (NVP) manufacturer, Liber Pharmaceuticals, has begun supplying retail pharmacy networks across Australia with smoking cessation devices that have been specifically designed for the Australian medical framework, and which meet the quality and safety standards expected by the medical profession.

Liber has no association with any tobacco company, and its products have never been sold as a consumer product.

Through its pharmaceutical distribution partners, Liber is supplying Nicovape Q and Nicovape SD to more than 5,500 pharmacies across Australia, and is committed to seeking registration on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) for these products.

The move follows today’s change to federal legislation which means that smokers wishing to access nicotine vaping products (NVPs) as part of their smoking cessation efforts, more commonly known as e-cigarettes, will require a medical prescription.

Australia is the first country in the world to regulate NVPs under a medical framework, and is aimed at ensuring an access pathway both for Australia’s 2.9 million smokers wishing to stop, and for vapers addicted to nicotine, but not wanting to return to tobacco smoking.

Liber Pharmaceuticals’ CEO, Richard Lee said the company had focused solely on developing the world’s first medically prescribed and pharmacy-ready e-cigarettes to help Australia’s 2.9 million smokers give up smoking.

“Nicovape Q is a proprietary, closed-system, medical-grade NVP, which was specifically developed as a tool for doctors to aid patients with a history of failed quit attempts using other cessation tools, offering a more effective alternative pathway to smoking cessation.”

The system consists of a rechargeable device and disposable cartridges, which contain the e-liquid which is
vaporised and inhaled.

“Nicovape Q has been specifically manufactured to facilitate the Australian medical framework standards to be consistent, reliable, effective, and safe,” Mr Lee said.

• In particular, Liber has ensured the following in the development of the Nicovape Q system:
  Application of drug development principles used for medicines;
• Use of pharmaceutical grade (Eur.Ph./USP) materials for the primary ingredients (nicotine, lactic acid, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine);
• Manufacturing of e-liquids in a UK-licenced pharmaceutical GMP facility;
• Characterisation of all flavour compounds, which have been subject to comprehensive
  toxicological risk and hazard assessments for inhalation; and
• Optimisation of e-liquids for use with the Nicovape Q device.

Liber says when used as directed, Nicovape Q and Nicovape Q SD minimise exposure to harmful and potentially harmful constituents compared to cigarettes (based upon lifetime exposures).

“Having worked through the very complex environment that currently exists around this issue, we created a guide for GPs to understand the considerations that will underpin their clinical decision process regarding NVPs as a smoking cessation tool.”

The guide also contains research and evidence around the efficacy of NVPs for smoking cessation, as well as instructions for patient use of e-cigarettes.

Mr Lee also reminded GP’s that they must be registered as an Authorised Prescriber if they wish to assist patients with an effective NVP solution.

Liber Pharmaceuticals will launch two products – Nicovape Q (59 mg/mL), which is optimised to help patients completely substitute cigarettes, and as an alternative to prevent relapse back to smoking and Nicovape Q SD (35 or 20 mg/mL – available in December 2021), which is a lower strength offering that doctors may use with their patients as part of a strategy to achieve nicotine abstinence. Both products offer three flavours of e-liquids – classic, coolmint and cherry.