New Zealand’s move to ban disposable e-cigarettes receives support in Canada

New Zealand’s government announced its plan to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes in the country and increase fines for retailers who sell vaping products to anyone under 18.

The move is an effort to make it harder for young people to get their hands on vaping products.

“We recognize that vaping got away on us and it became very attractive to the demographic we definitely don’t want to start vaping,” New Zealand’s associate health minister Casey Costello told reporters on Wednesday.

The announcement comes after the government rolled back a law that would have phased out tobacco sales by introducing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes.

The new e-cigarette law will fine retailers up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars (NZD) for selling vaping products to minors, while individuals will be fined 1,000 NZD.

The regulations will also prevent appealing images and product names from being used on e-cigarettes.

Adults will still be able to purchase reusable e-cigarettes in New Zealand.

“We want to make sure the product is still available for those who need it to quit smoking, but balance that to make sure it’s not available to young people,” Costello said.

The Canadian Lung Association (CLA) said the evidence does not show that the benefits of vaping as a smoking cessation aid outweigh the risks for kids who use the products.

“The balance there just hasn’t been met,” said Sarah Butson, CLA’s senior director of public affairs.

“The harms in terms of the sheer number of young people that are using these products, and the potential for their long term addiction, is highly concerning.”

Canada has some of the highest youth vaping rates in the world, according to Butson.

Appeal and access are the two main drivers in youth vaping numbers. Butson said there are “concerning trends” that show kids who use disposable vapes go on to use regular e-cigarettes as they get older.

In Canada, it is illegal to sell vaping products to anyone under 18. Most provinces have increased the legal age limit to 19. In Prince Edward Island, lawmakers increased it to 21.

A handful of provinces have also banned flavoured e-cigarettes.

The CLA said it would welcome a similar approach to the one New Zealand put forward. The organization has also long been calling for a federal flavour ban on vaping products.

“We know that flavours are one of the primary reasons that young people start using these products and one of the main reasons that they keep using the products after they start,” Butson said.

Mike Smider, a vape shop owner in Regina, Sask., said about half of his customer base would be affected if Canada followed suit with a ban on disposable vapes, but they would likely adapt to another product.

Smider sees the benefit to banning disposable e-cigarettes.

“They are a waste of money and they are horrible for the environment,” Smider said. “The biggest issue I’ve seen is actually parents buying them for their kids.”

From a consumer perspective, he believes they cost customers more in the long run compared to a reusable vape, which gives users more bang for their buck.

On the environmental front, Smider said there is no proper way to recycle the disposables, which are essentially a piece of plastic with a lithium battery inside, and they end up in landfills.

In a statement to CTV News, Health Canada said it will continue monitoring the work of other countries to address youth vaping.

“Youth vaping rates, which were rising at a rapid pace, have leveled off over the past two years, yet they remain relatively high with more work to be done to protect youth,” the statement read.

Canada’s Tobacco and Vaping Products Act regulates the manufacturing, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco and vaping products. Under the regulations, retailers cannot advertise vaping products anywhere that youth could see or hear them. The government also set a cut-off for the maximum nicotine concentration allowed in vaping products.

In 2021, Health Canada proposed regulations that would restrict flavours in vaping products, but those regulations have yet to be implemented.

Smider believes a federal flavour ban would “decimate” his business.

“It’s a threat, like a big threat,” he said.

“Not everybody wants a tobacco flavour. The majority don’t want to be reminded of that cigarette or cigar or whatever it is they used to smoke.”

With files from the Associated Press