A Sydney store has been fined over $100,000 for allegedly selling illegal vape pens that contain a high dose of nicotine.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has handed Mason Online Pty Ltd - the company that owns the business - a $106,650 fine and eight infringement notices for selling the e-cigarettes.
Mason Online owns Shosha, a store on Bourke Street in the inner east suburb of Darlinghurst, which also has an online store that sells vape pens, hookah pipes and smoking accessories.
In December, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the TGA would make it illegal for individuals to buy nicotine-based vapes from October 1 this year.
The nationwide changes to vaping laws criminalised the importation of e-cigarettes, pods and liquids containing nicotine from overseas without a valid prescription.
But some corner stores are content to risk fines by selling disposable vapes, which increasingly popular as an alternative to unhealthy and increasingly expensive cigarettes.
In December, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the TGA would make it illegal for individuals to buy the nicotine-based products from October 1 this year (stock image)
Mason Online owns Shosha, a store on Darlinghurst's Bourke Street, (pictured) which also has an online store that sells vape pens, hookah pipes and smoking accessories
The TGA has alleged Shosha has been selling the readily available and highly toxic pens to customers who don't hold a prescription.
'Mason Online allegedly advertised the use and supply of nicotine vaping products on its websites and failed to come into compliance,' a TGA statement reads.
'Under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, vaping products that contain nicotine are prescription-only medicines and cannot be advertised to the Australian public.'
The TGA alleges the website has advertised over 400 nicotine-based products including vape pens with flavours like watermelon, guava, grape and cherry.
The TGA alleges the website (pictured) has advertised over 400 nicotine-based products including vape pens with flavours like watermelon, guava, grape and cherry
Tobacco stores across Australia sell the addictive e-cigarettes for less than $20, offering to send the products in 'discreet packaging' (stock image)
'If you have been searching for the best vape store - then look no further than Shosha,' a statement on the website reads.
'We offer the largest range of high-quality vaping products at a competitive price.'
The brand claims to sell only to New Zealand customers online or through its 90 franchises, however shipping to Australia is currently available on the website.
The TGA claims the retail store has engaged in 'deceptive conduct' in removing references to selling to Australian customers.
'Where the TGA requests a person to review their website and remove all non-compliant advertising, it is not enough for the website to be redirected to an overseas domain or for references to a locally-based bricks-and-mortar store to be removed from the website,' the statement read.
'The TGA reminds advertisers of the recent warning not to engage in deceptive conduct.'
The TGA claims Shosha has advertised over 400 nicotine-based products which includes vape pens with flavours like watermelon, guava, grape and cherry (stock image)
It comes after some vape vendors warned they would ignore Australia's ban on Chinese-made disposable devices by selling them on the black market.
The owner of one of Australia's biggest e-cigarette stores claims the recent crackdown aimed at curbing nicotine vaping while allowing smokers to access products to help them quit is actually backfiring and helping the black market 'thrive'.
Max Fichkin, who runs The Steamery in Sydney, said the new laws will not stop commercial suppliers from smuggling massive shipments into Australia.
'There has always been a black market, and the more the government tries to quash it with legislation, the more the black
