Petition to Introduce Stronger Anti-Vaping Laws

The Opportunities Party is calling on the New Zealand Government and Parliament to introduce tougher anti-vaping laws.

While the Government had recently introduced some changes to vaping regulations, we believe these changes don’t go far enough. Over 250,000 New Zealanders vape daily, many of whom have never smoked before, and the lack of legislation on the products are just some of the reasons more Kiwis are taking up the habit.

• Vaping is addictive. Many vapes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance. Just like cigarettes, vapes can lead to nicotine addiction, which can have serious health consequences.
• Vaping is harmful to young people. The lungs of young people are still developing, and they are more susceptible to the harmful effects of vaping. Vaping may cause respiratory problems, heart disease, and cancer.
• Vaping is becoming increasingly popular among young people. A recent survey found that 18% of year 10 students vape regularly, triple the number in 2018. This is a staggering number, and it is clear that we need to take action to prevent more young people from vaping.

The Opportunities Party recognises that prohibition and complete restriction of vapes would only seek to push vapes into the black market as seen with vapes in Australia. We would like to see a sensible approach to tackle the vaping epidemic among our children.

The Opportunities Party would like to:

1. Restrict the sale of vapes to pharmacies. This would make it more difficult for young people to get their hands on vapes.
2. Require plain packaging for vapes. This would make vapes less appealing to young people.
3. Require vape packets to be hidden from the public. Similar to cigarettes, this would ban retailers from displaying vape packets and instead they would be kept hidden from view, e.g. in cupboards behind counters.
4. Limit the flavours of vapes that are available. Sweet and fruity flavours are often used to appeal to young people. Limiting the flavours that are available would make vapes less appealing to them.
5. Increase funding for vaping cessation programs. This would help people who are addicted to vaping to quit, and a particular focus would be placed on young people.