Several vape retailers in New Zealand are reportedly disregarding recently introduced regulations on vaping products. The new rules, which came into effect on March 21, restrict the level of nicotine that vaping substances can contain and impose stricter regulations on disposables. Among those retailers ignoring these new laws is The Vaping Kiwi, an online store that The Spinoff revealed was advertising products that breach current regulations.
Under the new rules, vape liquids are only permitted to contain a maximum of 28.5 milligrams of nicotine per millilitre. Furthermore, retailers are now limited in the naming of their products and can only use approved flavours in their labels to prevent them from appealing to children. The Spinoff discovered that more than one retailer was advertising and selling products that did not comply with these rules.
One such store, The Vaping Kiwi, held a sale last week wherein it advertised non-compliant products at discounted prices. Despite ongoing regulations being referenced, vape products featuring high nicotine content and unapproved flavour names were readily available for sale. An item purchased by The Spinoff on March 27 was found to contain a nicotine content of 35mg/ml and was labelled as 'apple acai strawberry' – a name which breaches current regulations as 'acai' is not an approved flavour.
Ayesha Verrall, Labour's health spokeswoman and the minister who initiated the vaping rules overhaul, was taken aback by the ongoing sales of non-compliant products. Shosha was another store found to be selling products that contravened the recent rules, with the vape chain continuing to sell a vape juice labelled 'ice cola wild cherry', a name that falls foul of the newly introduced regulations.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has expressed her concerns about retailers still selling banned products, stressing the need for stronger enforcement of regulations. The Ministry of Health is also aware of some retailers' non-compliance and is implementing measures to address the situation.
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