Legal age to buy a lighter in qld

Smoking product sale, advertising, display and promotion

Smoking products retailing laws state that:

• smoking products must not be sold to children (under 18) and the supplier must take measures to ensure their employees also do not supply smoking products to children (see employee training)
• smoking products must be kept out of sight of customers and be concealed by an opaque covering (viewed only incidentally by the extent required to carry out a transaction)
• only 1 point of sale is allowed at a retail outlet
• smoking products cannot be sold from a temporary retail store
• a mandatory sign must be displayed at the single point of sale
• smoking products must only be kept at a retail outlet on the sellers side of the point of sale, above or below the counter, but not on a counter, in a room or other place not accessed by customers (except for cigars which can be kept in humidified rooms that can be accessed by customers only when accompanied by the supplier or employee)
• information about smoking products can only be provided in a way specifically provided for in the Act. Special price tickets, price lists, selection aids, price boards, advertising of discounted smoking products, or signage relating to smoking or smoking products that is not specifically provided for in the Act are banned
• objects and entitlements, giveaways and competitions promoting or associated with smoking products are banned
• a business name cannot contain anything about the price of smoking products
• images that promote a person or thing consuming, using or being associated with a smoking product cannot be displayed at a retail outlet
• cigarettes or herbal cigarettes, loose tobacco and loose smoking blend can only be sold in package and the package must meet the minimum quantity requirements.

Smoking products can include tobacco products, herbal cigarettes, loose smoking blend, personal vaporisers (such as electronic or e-cigarettes, e-cigars, vape pens) personal vaporiser related products, smoking related products or a package or carton of any of these things.

From 1 March 2022 smoking related products include

• a cigarette paper (whether or not the paper is pre-rolled)
• another product sold to enclose loose tobacco or a loose smoking blend
• flavouring sold for the purpose of flavouring a tobacco product or a loose smoking blend
• a machine for injecting loose tobacco or a loose smoking blend into a pre-rolled paper or another product sold to enclose loose tobacco or a loose smoking blend
• a cigarette filter
• a cigarette tip
• a machine for rolling a cigarette or herbal cigarette
• a mouthpiece used to hold a cigar, cigarette or herbal cigarette
• a cigar cutter
• a pipe used for smoking loose tobacco or a loose smoking blend and a filter, grate or screen for a pipe.

Electronic cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and related products are defined under Queensland law as personal vapourisers and personal vapouriser related products and are considered smoking products.

The laws outlined above regarding the sale, advertising, display and promotion apply to these products.

Tobacco product vending machines

Tobacco product vending machines may only be in liquor licensed premises at

• bar areas (within 5 metres of the bar and use of the machine is able to be easily observed by staff behind the bar); or
• gaming machine areas (within 1 metre of a gaming machine and able to be easily observed by staff); or
• casinos.

Smoking product retailing laws state that:

• a tobacco product vending machine may only display price tickets or another indicator of price (such as an electronic display) in accordance with the requirements of the regulation
• the display and advertising of a smoking product in or on the tobacco product vending machine is banned
• a mandatory sign must be displayed on the front of the vending machine or near the machine and must be easily visible to a person purchasing a tobacco product
• a business name cannot contain anything about the price of smoking products
• tobacco products must not be obtained by children (under 18) and the licensee must take measures to ensure their employees also take reasonable steps to ensure this (see employee training)
• personal vaporisers, personal vaporiser related products, herbal cigarettes or a loose smoking blend cannot be supplied through a vending machine.

Mandatory signs

The requirements for the mandatory sign that must be displayed by all smoking product retailers changed on 1 September 2021.

If a supplier immediately prior to 1 September 2021 displayed a mandatory sign at a relevant point of sale or on the front or near a tobacco vending machine that complied with the Tobacco and Other Smoking Product Regulation 2010 (now expired), this sign can remain until it needs to be replaced or 1 September 2023 whichever is earlier.

The free mandatory sign is available for order by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

Price tickets

The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Regulation, sets out requirements for price tickets at relevant points of sale and tobacco product vending machines, including size, form, colour and the information that can be included.

From 1 March 2022, there will be a new requirement for smoking product price tickets to use the same spacing between words and letters as price tickets for all other smoking products being sold at the retail outlet or from the vending machine.

For further information about the specific requirements for price tickets in Queensland, see the Laws for retailing smoking products: requirements for retailers information booklet (PDF 467 kB).

Prohibited products

A person must not sell, commercially supply or display ice pipes or bongs in or near a shop, including market stalls, in Queensland.

Retailers who sell and display these implements must comply with the laws and remove all ice pipes and bongs, including their components, from sale and display.

Queensland Health Environmental Health Officers and Queensland Police Officers are authorised to enforce the ice pipe and bong prohibition.

Further a person must not:

• display more than 3 hookahs
• supply a smokeless tobacco product to another person
• as part of a business activity, supply to a person an object, other than a tobacco product, that resembles a tobacco product; or
• sell a cigarette that is confectionary-flavoured or fruit-flavoured.

Employee training

A supplier must train their employees about the sale of smoking products to children, either over-the-counter or from accessing a tobacco product vending machine. This training is required by law.

The Employee Training Acknowledgement form is used to show written evidence of this training. This form can also be requested by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

Over-the-counter sales

A supplier must train their employees about not selling smoking products to children.

This employee training must

• instruct staff not to sell smoking products to children in any circumstances, and to sight acceptable evidence of age for a person before selling a smoking product to them, unless staff are satisfied the person is an adult
• warn staff that if they sell smoking products to children in disregard of your instruction, they may face a fine; and
• obtain written acknowledgement from each employee that they have received the instructions and warning.

Tobacco product vending machine sales

The licensee must train their employees about preventing child access to the machine.

This employee training must

• instruct staff to take reasonable steps to ensure that a child does not obtain a tobacco product from the machine and to sight acceptable evidence of age for a person before selling a smoking product to them, unless staff are satisfied the person is an adult; and
• obtain written acknowledgement from each employee that they have received the instructions and warning.

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