One Taranaki local retailer has failed an undercover vaping controlled purchase operation (CPO) recently after selling vape juice containing nicotine to a 14 year old.

The CPO was carried out by Te Whatu Ora / Health NZ Taranaki Public Health Unit which found the Shosha vaping retailer in Waitara failing to comply. Sixteen retailers in total were visited during the operation.

It’s illegal to sell vapes to children and a retailer who sells vaping products to anyone aged under 18 will be referred to the Ministry of Health and may be issued with an infringement notice including a $200 fine, and, or face prosecution, says Carly Stevenson, Smoke-free Enforcement Officer for the Public Health Unit.

"An ID needs to be requested if the purchaser looks under 25," says Stevenson. "All businesses selling vaping products need to be certain of their obligations under the Smoke-Free Environments and Regulated Products Act, and pass on this important information to staff members."

The only acceptable forms of identification are a New Zealand drivers’ licence, passport, or valid 18+ card.

The Public Health Unit continues to monitor retailers of vape products who have sold to underage buyers and will carry out further CPO’s targeting those retailers.

For more information on compliance with the Smoke-free Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 or discuss concerns about retailers selling tobacco to minors (under 18’s), please contact Te Whatu Ora Taranaki’s Public Health Unit on 06 753 7798.

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