E-cigarettes to become legal

Nicky Wagner announced:

Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner today announced the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquid will be made legal with appropriate controls.

“Scientific evidence on the safety of e-cigarettes is still developing but there’s a general consensus that vaping is much less harmful than smoking,” Ms Wagner says.

Public Health England estimate they are 95% less harmful than normal cigarettes.

New rules for all e-cigarettes, whether or not they contain nicotine, include:

• Restricting sales to those 18 years and over

• Prohibiting vaping in indoor workplaces and other areas where smoking is banned under the Smoke-free Environments Act

• Restricting advertising to limit the attraction of e-cigarettes to non-smokers, especially children and young people.

Sounds reasonable, but devil will be in the detail.

“This is an opportunity to see if restricted access to e-cigarettes and e-liquid can help lower our smoking rates, reduce harm and save lives,” Ms Wagner says.

“The Government is strongly committed to achieving our goal of a smoke-free New Zealand by 2025.”

E-cigarettes may be the most effective measure left in the toolbox, to get the smoking rate down to 5%.