Recent media reports have raised concerns about the chemical composition and aerosol emissions of some vaping products supplied through Australian pharmacies. While the article (link here) does not reference or relate to Liber Pharmaceuticals’ (Liber) Nicovape Q products, we recognise that such reporting may cause understandable concern among pharmacists, clinicians and patients about all therapeutic vaping products.

Liber developed Nicovape Q specifically for the Australian therapeutic vaping framework and engineered the system to comply with the stringent requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) standard for therapeutic vaping goods (TGO 110). From the outset, Liber has applied pharmaceutical-style discipline to both liquid formulation and device design.

Liber has consistently emphasised the importance of purpose-built therapeutic vaping products rather than adapting consumer devices originally designed for the recreational market. In its submission to the TGA’s consultation that informed the current regulatory framework, Liber advocated for stronger pre-market toxicological assessment of vaping products.

Molecularly defined ingredients

Nicovape Q liquids use a deliberately simple formulation: nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, purified water and flavouring components.
Nicovape Q flavourings are molecularly defined and assessed through a structured safety review process. Each flavouring component undergoes hazard screening and a toxicological risk assessment before being included in the formulation. This process evaluates toxicological data, inhalation safety profiles and potential degradation pathways during heating. Ingredients that cannot be clearly characterised or assessed are excluded.
This conservative formulation approach minimises uncertainty and ensures the aerosol profile remains predictable and well understood.

Aerosol purity and metals control

Trace metals in aerosol emissions are a recognised concern in inhalation technologies. Nicovape Q was designed to minimise this risk.
Liber’s cartridge architecture separates the heating element from the liquid reservoir during storage, preventing prolonged contact between the liquid formulation and metallic components and reducing the potential for metal leaching during shelf life.
Independent aerosol analyses of Nicovape Q conducted under realistic conditions of use did not detect metals.

Materials selection and avoidance of ceramic heating elements

Many vaping devices use porous ceramic heating structures. While these materials can perform well thermally, questions remain regarding the potential for ceramic particulate emissions under certain operating conditions. There are currently no widely accepted standards for manufacturers to reliably exclude this type of contamination.
Given the limited independent data available on ceramic particle emissions from vaping devices, Liber chose not to use ceramic heating materials. Instead, Nicovape Q uses a well-characterised wick-and-coil architecture controlled by a microprocessor-regulated heating system. This approach delivers consistent aerosolisation while avoiding the uncertainties associated with ceramic heating technologies.

A medically oriented design philosophy

The therapeutic vaping pathway in Australia exists to provide adult smokers with a regulated alternative to the illicit market. Achieving this objective requires products engineered with safety, transparency and reproducibility as primary design principles.
Nicovape Q reflects this philosophy through tightly controlled formulations, conservative materials selection and extensive analytical testing.