Total ban on disposable vapes, retailer fines increase
Disposable vapes will be “completely banned” and some fines for shops selling to minors will increase tenfold as the Government unveils a “crackdown” on youth vaping.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said fines for selling cigarettes and vapes to minors will be “significantly increased”, while the manufacture and sale of disposable vapes would be banned.
“Cabinet has agreed to a complete ban on disposable vapes, significant increases in fines for sales to under-18s, further restrictions on retailers and a better enforcement system to ensure vape retailers are following the rules,” she said in a media release.
“While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rapid rise in youth vaping has been a real concern for parents, teachers, and health professionals.
“Reusable vapes are a key smoking cessation device and will remain available.
“But too many teenagers continue to use disposable vapes – they’re cheap and remain too easy to get, despite changes under the previous government. That’s why these cheap, single-use vape products will be banned outright.”
She continued: “There must be clear consequences for retailers found supplying vapes, or other regulated products like cigarettes, to minors.
“Therefore, the maximum fine for retailers found selling vapes or other regulated products to under-18s will increase from $10,000 to $100,000.
“The penalty for infringement offences will rise from $500 to $1000 for individuals and to $2000 for businesses.”
Costello said Cabinet has also agreed to impose further requirements on specialist vape retailers, such as “tighter restrictions on storefront displays and staffing requirements, with officials to conduct targeted consultation on these proposals”.
The Government would amend the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act to enact the changes, according to Costello.
“We will also review the licensing and compliance regimes around vaping so that the higher penalties for selling to under-18s are backed by stronger enforcement.”
The Vaping Industry Association of NZ would like to see the policing of smokefree regulations move from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Justice.
The previous government introduced several anti-youth vaping measures, though some were criticised by advocates as being ineffective.
Other measures also included stopping new vape retailers from opening within 300m of schools or marae.
In today’s announcement, Costello said requirements for reusable vapes to have removable batteries and child-proofing mechanisms would be “deferred” until October.
She said it was important to “ensure sufficient availability of appropriate reusable vaping products to continue to support people to quit smoking”.
However, the campaign group ASH is warning against complacency, with vaping still prevalent among some groups.
The requirement for removable batteries was intended to discourage the sale of cheap single-use vapes Retailers were critical of how the plans were being implemented, which saw several begin fire sales of their disposable vape stocks.
The Government reconfirmed that other signalled changes would continue to enter into force tomorrow, including the ban on vaping products with images of cartoons or toys on the packaging, and limiting flavour names to generic descriptions.
Costello said: “The Coalition Government is committed to tackling youth vaping and to continue to drive down smoking rates to achieve the smokefree goal of less than 5% of the population smoking daily by 2025.”
Labour: Measures proposed ineffective
Labour Party health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the changes announced today were “minor” and wouldn’t be effective.
“The Government’s vaping policy is nothing more than a reheat of Labour’s existing restrictions – and doesn’t go further to reduce the number of vape stores in our communities,” the former health minister said in a statement.
“These are minor changes that won’t impact the growth in youth vaping. Increased fines will only assist if the Government also resources enforcement officers and ensures tough penalties are used.”
Asthma Foundation, Taxpayers’ Union react to ban
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation and the Taxpayers’ Union have reacted to the Government’s plan.
“This is a crucial step forward in combating the youth vaping epidemic and protecting the health of our rangatahi. We commend the Government for taking decisive action to address this important issue,” Asthma and Respiratory Foundation boss Letitia Harding said.
“These products have been a gateway to nicotine addiction for far too many young people, for far too long, and their removal from the market will undoubtedly…
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