Market & legal data for the vapour sector in New Zealand

14th January 2025: New Zealand: The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation and the Cancer Society New Zealand have criticised a government scheme that offers free vaping kits to smokers who give up cigarettes. While acknowledging that vaping products carry lower risks than smoking, the organisations have expressed concerns that the plan fails to effectively address nicotine addiction overall.
18th December 2024: New Zealand: On 16th December 2024, The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill received royal assent. As of 17th December, penalties for breaking the law have been increased, new specialist vape stores will need to have zoning restrictions, and all vape retailers must notify the Ministry of Health that they are selling vaping products. As of 17th June 2025, retail visibility restrictions and the ban on disposable vapes will enter into force.
13th December 2024: New Zealand: The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill was adopted in the third and final reading. The main changes expected are zoning restrictions for specialist vape stores, increased penalties for breaking the law, retail visibility restrictions and a ban on disposable vapes. The bill must now be given the royal assent. The zoning restrictions and increased penalties will come into force the day after the royal assent, and the ban on disposable vapes and retail visibility will come into force six months afterwards.
27th November 2024: New Zealand: The minister of health has published an action plan “Getting to Smokefree 2025: The final push to achieve the Smokefree 2025 goal”, which sets a target of a smoking prevalence of less than 5% for all population groups (with a smoking rate now of 6.9% in 2023/24). One of the measures established to achieve the goal is to provide free quit smoking support, such as vape starter kits.
20th November 2024: New Zealand: The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill, expected to come into force in November, was adopted in the second reading last week. The main changes expected are zoning restrictions for specialist vape stores, increased penalties for breaking the law, retail visibility restrictions and a ban on disposable vapes. The zoning restrictions and increased penalties will come into force once the bill is approved, and the ban on disposable vapes and retail visibility will come into force six months afterwards. The bill is currently awaiting its third reading.
5th November 2024: New Zealand: The Ministry of Health has published the upcoming changes to the vaping and tobacco laws that are being discussed in Parliament through the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill, expected to come into force in November. The main changes are zoning restrictions to specialist vape stores, increasing penalties for breaking the law, retail visibility restrictions and banning disposable vapes. The zoning restrictions and increased penalties will come into force once the bill is approved, and the ban on disposable vapes and retail visibility will come into force six months after. The bill is currently waiting for its second reading.
1st October 2024: New Zealand: As of today, retailers, distributors, local manufacturers and importers must only sell reusable vaping products that contain removable batteries and are compliant with child-safety mechanisms.
27th September 2024: New Zealand: The parliament has extended the deadline for public submissions on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No. 2) to 4th October. The bill includes a complete ban on disposable vapes, increases in fines for sales to under-18s, visibility restrictions on retailers, and proximity restrictions. It is under analysis by the Health Committee, which will gather information and prepare a report on the bill.
25th September 2024: New Zealand: In a forum organised by Health Coalition Aotearoa, associate health minister Casey Costello said they are committed to achieving the Smokefree 2025 target of less than 5% smokers, and to do this they “have to be anti-smoking, not necessarily anti-nicotine”, press reports. She also added that they have accepted that “using a safer form of nicotine is an important tool in getting people on the pathway to stop smoking tobacco. This is from nicotine patches through to vaping.”
13th September 2024: New Zealand: The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No. 2) has been agreed on a first reading by the parliament. The bill aims to completely ban disposable vapes, increase fines for sales to under-18s, add visibility restrictions on retailers and add proximity restrictions. It was referred to the Health Committee, which will gather information and prepare a report on the bill. Public submissions will be open until 27th September.
12th September 2024: New Zealand: The government has introduced the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No. 2), which aims to tackle youth vaping. The bill includes a complete ban on disposable vapes, increases in fines for sales to under-18s, visibility restrictions on retailers, and proximity restrictions. Minister of health Casey Costello said that the next steps in the government’s smoke-free programme would be updating and strengthening the regulation of vaping and other nicotine products.
26th July 2024: New Zealand: The Ministry of Health sent a reminder that, from 1st October, all vaping devices must have a child safety mechanism and a removable battery and that retailers have to manage their stock to sell it down until that date. The requirement for disposable vapes has been in force since 21st October 2023. The ministry also published how the child safety mechanism should work. It requires at least two simultaneous or five sequential operations before the vaping device is turned on, and must automatically turn the device off within a period of no more than ten minutes after vaping has stopped.

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