Hon Casey Costello
Associate Minister of Health

New Zealand is turning the corner on youth vaping and the Government’s law changes will reinforce that trend, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today.

“The ASH survey of youth vaping and smoking released today shows that smoking rates for year 10 students remain very low – they have turned their backs on smoking – and that vaping rates peaked three years ago,” Casey Costello says. “This is great news.”

The ASH survey showed daily vaping rates for year 10 students falling to 8.7%. This is in line with the recent NZ Health Survey results which also showed a significant reduction in daily vaping rates for 15-17-year-olds.

“For too long, New Zealand didn’t have vaping regulations in place,“ Ms Costello says.

“Vaping has played a key role in helping people quit smoking, and we want vapes available to adults as a cessation tool, but it isn’t for children and young people and that’s why the Government has taken action around this.

“It’s timely that legislation that bans disposable vapes and significantly increases penalties for illegal sales was passed by Parliament yesterday evening.

“The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping and puts in place practical changes and a much stronger regulatory regime,” Ms Costello says.

“Single use vape devices will be banned outright. We are getting rid of vapes that are most popular among young people, and that can only be positive.”

The four main changes included in the Bill are:

• banning the manufacture, sale, supply, and distribution of disposable vapes
• increasing penalties for unlawful sales of regulated products to minors
• imposing retail visibility restrictions for vaping products
• adding further proximity restrictions for specialist vape retailers.

“We have introduced penalties for breaching the ban; up to $400,000 for a manufacturer, importer or large retailer, and $50,000 for any other person.

“We have also significantly increased the penalties for retailers who illegally sell vapes, cigarettes and other regulated products to young people.”

The maximum fine for selling vapes or other regulated products to under-18s will increase from between $5,000-10,000 up to a maximum of $100,000. The penalty for infringement offences will rise from $500 to $1,000 for individuals and to $2,000 for businesses.

“In addition, vaping products and their packaging are now covered by new visibility restrictions,” Ms Costello says.

“Specialist vape retailers are prohibited from displaying vaping products and their packages if they are visible from outside the store.

“General vape retailers (mostly supermarkets, petrol stations and dairies) will be subject to the same rules that currently apply to other regulated products such as cigarettes.

“This means any part of the product, or its package, must not be displayed in a way that means they are visible from outside the store or inside any area of the store where the public can enter.”

The Bill tightens related advertising restrictions on vaping products to ensure the visibility restrictions are not undermined.

Under the new legislation, those applying to set up a new specialist vape retail store must be at least 100 metres from the boundary of a licensed early childhood service. This builds on the existing requirement to be at least 300 metres from a marae or school.

“This is a package of common-sense and practical measures that will be welcomed by parents, teachers and health professionals,” Ms Costello says.

There will be a delayed commencement period of 6 months before the disposable vape ban and the retail visibility restrictions come into force to allow time for businesses to prepare for the changes.

“This will also allow for the recruitment and training of more dedicated smokefree enforcement officers so that the new rules and tougher penalties are supported by greater enforcement capability,” Ms Costello says.

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