The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) this week issued a safety advisory over two smoking devices that bear strong resemblance to metered dose inhalers used to treat asthma and other medical conditions.

TGA says the devices, known as the Puffit and Puffix-X, are designed to “burn vegetable material such as herbs or tobacco,” which is then inhaled as smoke.

TGA’s Warning

The agency fears that the products’ similarity to metered dose inhalers could create confusion for patients who require an inhaler for medical purposes. Though the devices are labelled “this is not a medical device,” patients with respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could attempt to use the Puffit device by mistake.

TGA says in case of confusion patients should verify the contents of their inhaler by looking at the label on the canister insert.

The TGA advisory contains photographs comparing the appearance of the Puffit device to an approved metered dose inhaler.

The company marketing the Puffit devices, Discreet Vape, does not mention the resemblance its products bear to metered dose inhalers on its website.

TGA Advisory