International shipping, EU TPD, UK MHRA, AU TGA, can I sell internationally?
Short answer: not easily. Each region has its own regulatory regime that’s as strict or stricter than the FDA.
EU, TPD (Tobacco Products Directive):
- Maximum 2ml tank capacity (no MTL pod systems above 2ml).
- Maximum 20mg/ml nicotine strength (no 30mg+ salt nic).
- Maximum 10ml refill bottle.
- EU TPD notification required per SKU (~€150 per country per product). 27 EU countries = potentially €4k+ per SKU.
- Child-resistant + tamper-evident packaging.
- Health warnings on 30% of pack surface.
UK, MHRA:
- Similar to EU TPD but post-Brexit slightly diverged.
- UK MHRA notification required (separate from EU).
- Disposable vape ban came into effect June 1, 2025, you cannot legally sell single-use disposables to UK customers in 2026.
Australia, TGA:
- Nicotine vape products are prescription-only since October 2021.
- You can only ship to AU customers who have a doctor’s prescription on file (uploaded + verified).
- Pharmacy-licensed channel only, no DTC outside that.
How we wire it in Magento: separate store views per region with different catalogs (US store sees full product range; EU store sees TPD-compliant SKUs only; UK store excludes disposables; AU store requires prescription upload). Geo-routing redirects customers to the correct store view at landing.
Realistic stance: most US vape brands stay US-only because the per-country regulatory cost outweighs the revenue. International expansion happens at $10M+ GMV when you have the compliance budget.