New Zealand has enacted significant new vaping regulations this month, including a nationwide ban on the manufacturing, sale, supply, and distribution of disposable vapes. Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced that these changes, part of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill passed last December, are now in effect.
The new rules also introduce strict retail visibility restrictions for all vaping products. Specialist vape stores must alter their appearance, while general retailers like dairies, supermarkets, and petrol stations are now required to keep all vaping products completely out of public sight. Online stores are prohibited from displaying images of vape products or linking to overseas sites that do. The government had delayed the implementation of these measures by six months to allow businesses time to prepare and to recruit and train more smokefree enforcement officers, increasing their number to 18 to ensure the new rules are supported by greater enforcement capability.
These changes build on previously enacted measures that increased penalties for unlawfully selling vapes and tobacco products to minors and restricted where specialist vape stores can open. The maximum penalty for violating the new prohibitions is substantial, reaching up to $400,000 for manufacturers, importers, or large retailers, and $50,000 for others.
Costello stated that New Zealand had lacked sufficient vaping regulations for too long and that these changes aim to address the issue of youth vaping by reducing the appeal and visibility of these products. "Vaping has played a key role in helping people quit smoking, and we want vapes available to adults as a cessation tool, but vaping isn’t for children and young people and that’s why the Government has taken action," she said.
