VIANZ pushes back on claims industry has ‘worked around’ the regulations
It is incorrect to suggest the industry “worked around” the regulations. Disposables, despite VIANZ submissions in favour of a total ban, were never banned by the previous government. In fact, a specific section of the regulations was dedicated to “single use” (disposable) products. The industry simply complied with these new disposable regulations.
The last round of regulations were the result of knee-jerk, half-baked decision-making from the previous Government with no meaningful consultation with industry. The result was a selection of seemingly irrelevant regulatory requirements that are not only ineffective at achieving any real purpose, they are also proving too complicated to be enforced effectively.
Removable batteries: Under the title of “youth vaping regulations”, Minister Verrall specifically stated the requirement for removable batteries would “make them safer”. However, lithium ion batteries are designed to be sealed in devices so this requirement has made vaping devices less safe.
Lower nicotine levels: There is no evidence that higher nicotine levels lead to higher levels of addiction or dependence. Lowering nicotine levels merely stops vaping products from being an effective smoking cessation tool, as they need to deliver an equivalent level of nicotine to a cigarette. The new lower nicotine levels are now around a third of the nicotine in a cigarette. We expect to see lower cessation rates as a result of lowering the nicotine limit in vaping products.
Child safety mechanisms: Young people are often more technologically advanced than adults. A 5x click operation is unlikely to act as a sufficient deterrent for young people.
It is difficult to understand how any of the above measures were determined to make a meaningful impact to youth vaping. Instead, they have resulted in less safe products on market and less effective vaping products for smoking cessation. Further, the complexities of these requirements have made it impossible for enforcement officers to determine compliance without extensive testing and evaluation.
Moving forward, the Government and the Ministry of Health need to work together with stakeholders to bring about meticulously drafted legislation and complementary regulations that achieve the common goal of reducing youth vaping while retaining smokers access to the products that have drastically reduced New Zealand’s smoking rates.
It is important to note that any new rules around vaping are destined to be a failure unless sufficient enforcement action is taking place. This is why we, along with health advocates like the Asthma Foundation, have been pushing for a shift in the enforcement of vaping to the Ministry of Justice.
