The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) proposes changes to how vaping, tobacco, and nicotine products are regulated. While intended to support Smokefree 2025 goals, its current drafting risks creating unintended and counterproductive outcomes.
We have called for a full rewrite of key provisions, warning that the Bill could accidentally restrict safer, widely used vaping products while introducing unnecessary barriers to switching from smoking. We also oppose several clauses that limit access and innovation, and support expanding legal access to lower-risk alternatives like oral nicotine products.
Vaping has driven a significant decline in smoking rates in New Zealand, helping hundreds of thousands of people quit and reducing harm, especially in lower-income communities. Poorly designed regulations risk reversing this progress, increasing unsafe alternatives, and creating new health and safety issues.
