According to reports from the press on March 29th, the New Zealand government has announced that the ban on disposable e-cigarettes will be delayed until October.
These delayed regulations include e-cigarettes with removable batteries and child safety mechanisms, which means disposable e-cigarettes can still be sold without restrictions for the next six months.
Deputy Health Minister Casey Costello stated that the extension of the deadline is in order to ensure that smokers are able to access disposable e-cigarettes, and to allow time to ensure that regulations cannot be circumvented by manufacturers.
Therefore, we hope to ensure that there are enough reusable e-cigarettes available for adult use. Other countries are also addressing this issue, so we hope to coordinate our efforts to ensure that the regulations are consistent with international standards.
The minister stated that the government did not receive any consultation or lobbying from the industry before making the decision. However, now that the decision has been made, "I will engage in discussions with the e-cigarette industry and other groups to ensure that we develop appropriate regulations.
According to a health survey in New Zealand, the daily smoking rate among the 15-17 age group increased from 8.3% in 2022 to 15.4% in 2023, affecting approximately 32,000 teenagers. However, Costello mentioned that while the teenage smoking rate is on the rise, e-cigarettes are also an important tool in preventing New Zealanders from smoking.
Compared to smoking, vaping e-cigarettes is much safer, and this has been a key reason for 230,000 people quitting smoking in the past three years.
The New Zealand government and Coastguard are sticking to their decision to postpone regulations and have stated that they will submit a legislative amendment to a special committee to ensure that the public has a say.
As a government, we explicitly aim to continue reducing smoking, preventing young people from smoking and using e-cigarettes. That is the reason we have made these decisions.
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