After a successful launch, the rollout of New Zealand’s Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act is well underway with further changes coming into force on 11 May 2021.
The Act which passed on 11 August 2020 has been developed to strike a balance between ensuring vaping and electronic cigarette products are available for smokers who want to switch to a less harmful alternative while importantly ensuring these products aren’t marketed or sold to young people.
While some provisions came into force straight away, to help ease the country into the Act, the complete changes will be phased in over a fifteen month period which ends on 11 February 2022.
In overview, the Act will:
• Ban the sale of vaping products to those under the age of 18.
• Prohibit advertising the products and encouraging people to buy them in-store.
• Limit the sale of all flavours to specialist stores, including online retailers, with shops like dairies, supermarkets and petrol stations restricted to mint, menthol and tobacco.
• Allow speciality stores to continue offering loyalty points and discounts.
• Ban vaping in cars with children.
• Enable all retailers to display products in-store.
• Provide a framework for regulations to be set where people are allowed to vape in or outside premises.
• Introduce a safety system which would allow the Ministry of Health to recall products, suspend them and issue warnings.
Our Regulatory Officer, Aaron Farmer, said “One key aspect of the legislation for ADACT is that this allows the Ministry of Health to place restrictions on e-liquid ingredients and nicotine levels, and has already seen colouring agents banned. There will also be new testing requirements for notified products but exact details are yet to be released. A major deadline for ADACT’s customers comes this August, when manufacturers and importers can start notifying their vaping and smokeless tobacco products.”
You can read more about the act on the New Zealand Ministry of Health website: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/regulation-vaping-and-smokeless-tobacco-products/about-smokefree-environments-and-regulated-products-vaping-amendment-act
A full timeline of which aspects of the act come into force at any given date is available to download at: https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/smokefree_environments_and_regulated_products_vaping_amendment_act_key_timeline.pdf
To book a meeting to discuss what you need to do to maintain sales in New Zealand, please call ADACT on +44(0)1302 986 088 or email [email protected].
