Vapers Welcome Government Move on E-Cigarettes

2 August 2016, 2:00pm

New Zealand Vapers Welcome Government Move on E-Cigarettes

Today New Zealand vapers will welcome moves by the Government to consult on e-cigarettes and make nicotine e-liquids more readily available to New Zealand consumers.

“The announcement today that the Government has agreed in principle to nicotine e-cigarettes being legally available for sale and supply in New Zealand is cause for celebration around the vaping world,” said QJ Satchell, President of the New Zealand Vaping Alliance.

“The outcome of this New Zealand consultation has global ramifications in that the New Zealand Government is recognising that ‘there is general scientific consensus that the exclusive use of e-cigarettes is significantly less harmful than smoking”, said Mr Satchell.

Today’s announcement that the Ministry of Health is undertaking a consultation on Policy Options for the Regulation of Electronic Cigarettes will go some-way to supporting efforts by thousands of New Zealanders who have quit smoking by using e-cigarettes and nicotine e-liquids”, said Mr Satchell.

“We have been very active in encouraging the New Zealand Government to recognise the significant research and evidenced-based work undertaken one-cigarettes by not only Public Health England, but by the Royal College of Physicians and Cancer Research UK”, said Mr Satchell.

“The UK Public Health England report that concludes that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco use.”

While we support the sale and supply of e-cigarettes with nicotine in New Zealand, and the introduction of a sales restriction to those over the age of 18 years, the consultation paper also proposes restrictions on advertising of e-cigarettes and that the use of e-cigarettes would be prohibited in areas defined as smokefree by the Smoke-free Environments Act. These will be contentious issues among the vaping community.

The New Zealand Vaping Alliance encourages vaping retailers and vapers across the country to have their say and share their stories with the Ministry of Health and Members of Parliament. Closing date for submissions is Monday 12 September 2016.

“The key thing the Ministry of Health and Government need to remember is that e-cigarettes are not tobacco products, and the more you make it like tobacco the more you potentially hand over this market to the tobacco companies”, Mr Satchell said.

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