A store that promotes and sells vaping equipment is set to open in the heart of the Bendigo CBD.
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Victorian business Juice Cartel has set up shop on Williamson Street and is due to open to the public from Monday.
"We've been online for the past two years," part-owner Hayley Wesche said. "We have noticed a lot of people were trying to get off cigarettes and take up an alternative.
"There wasn't a main hub where people could get information or juices and stuff, so we decided to open one."
Ms Wesche and Michael Carr were running their business from Rochester but saw the demand in Bendigo.
"We weighed up the pros and cons of Echuca-Moama or Bendigo," Ms Wesche said. "A lot of our online sales were from Bendigo and the Bendigo population is bigger.
"We found the perfect place on Williamson Street and everything fell into place."
Under Australian poisons laws, it is illegal to sell, possess or use nicotine in the form of an electronic cigarette.
In Victoria, it is not illegal to sell non-nicotine electronic cigarettes. But e-cigarettes cannot be sold to a person under 18 years of age, they cannot be used in non-smoking areas, and there are restrictions around advertising and promotion.
Juice Cartel only sells non-nicotine electronic cigarettes. Ms Wesche said the business was trying to provide a "safer alternative" to smoking.
"Vaping is not an illicit substance, it's not illegal and it's not against the law," Ms Wesche said.
"Doctors would probably prefer nothing to go into your lungs, but if we can get you off cigarettes then it would be a lot healthier."
But the Australian Department of Health said existing evidence indicated e-cigarettes were "not harmless products". Quit Victoria said the health effects of electronic cigarettes were still largely unknown.
"Products currently on the market in Australia have not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for safety, quality and efficacy for quitting," Quit Victoria Director Dr Sarah White said.
"There are also no consumer safety standards for the devices or the liquids used in them.
"This potentially poses a significant risk to users, who may be under the false impression that electronic cigarettes are safe."
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