WELLINGTON: New Zealand has set out new youth vaping regulations to limit youth vaping, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said on Monday.
Vapes should be as far as possible from the mind and reach of children and young people, so any locations within 300 metres of schools and marae (Maori meeting places) will be off-limits for new specialist vape shops, Verrall said.
“Vapes will need child safety mechanisms and names like ‘cotton candy’ and ‘strawberry jelly donut’ will be prohibited,” she said, adding only generic names which accurately describe the flavours can be used, such as “orange” or “berry”.
The new regulations set the maximum nicotine levels to balance the need for sufficient nicotine to be an effective smoking cessation device, while limiting the risk of nicotine addiction, especially for young people, and particularly from cheap single-use vaping products, the minister said, reported Xinhua.
The regulations, which will come into effect on Sept 21, require all vaping devices sold in New Zealand to have removable batteries, which will make them safer, she said.
“We’re creating a future where tobacco products are no longer addictive, appealing, or as readily available, and the same needs to apply to vaping,” Verrall said. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
