The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 commenced on 11 November 2020. The Amendment Act amended the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 and renamed it the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990. Provisions under the Act include the requirement for all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be smokefree and vape free, prohibiting the sale of vaping products to anyone under the age of 18, and product safety standards that must be met before vaping products can be sold.
Following consultation January - March 2023, further vaping regulations have been published on the legislation website under the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Regulations 2023.
Timeline
1 January 2023 (SERPA provisions come into force)
- Retailers of notifiable products should only specify appropriate retail premises in AVP applications
- Retailers of notifiable products must keep accurate records relating to all their notifiable products
- Distributors of notifiable products must keep accurate records relating to all their notifiable products
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must keep accurate records relating to all their notifiable products
- Exporters of notifiable products must keep accurate records relating to all their notifiable products
21 September 2023 (after Regulations come into force)
- Retailers of notifiable products can notify that they sell notifiable products at retail
- Approved Vaping Premises must be at least 300m from a registered school or a marae
1 October 2023 (9 months after Act commences)
- Retailers of notifiable products must have notified that they sell notified products at retail
- NZ manufacturers and importers of notifiable products must have notified all notifiable products (vaping, herbal smoking and smokeless tobacco products)
21 October 2023 (1 month after Regulations come into force)
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must only notify vaping products that use permitted flavour descriptions
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must only notify vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms, labelling requirements)
21 December 2023 (3 months after Regulations come into force)
- Retailers of notifiable products must only sell single-use vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms, labelling requirements)
- Distributors of notifiable products must only sell single-use vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms, labelling requirements)
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must only sell single-use vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms, labelling requirements)
31 January 2024
- Retailers of notifiable products must have submitted Annual Returns for 2023
- Distributors of notifiable products must have submitted Annual Returns for 2023
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must have submitted Annual Returns, and if required, Annual Reports for 2023
21 March 2024 (6 months after Regulations come into force)
- Retailers of notifiable products must not sell vaping products or smokeless tobacco products that have images of cartoons and toys on their packaging
- Retailers of notifiable products must only sell vaping products that use permitted flavour descriptions
- Retailers of notifiable products must only sell reusable vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms)
- Distributors of notifiable products must not sell vaping products or smokeless tobacco products that have images of cartoons and toys on their packaging
- Distributors of notifiable products must only sell vaping products that use permitted flavour descriptions
- Distributors of notifiable products must only sell reusable vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms)
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must not sell vaping products or smokeless tobacco products that have images of cartoons and toys on their packaging
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must only sell vaping products that use permitted flavour descriptions
- NZ Manufacturers & Importers of notifiable products must only sell reusable vaping products that meet Product Safety Requirements (including nicotine limits, removable batteries, child safety mechanisms).
Vaping regulation submissions
During a seven-week public consultation (26 January – 15 March 2021), we heard from more than 2500 people across Aotearoa about proposed vaping regulations, including vapers and smokers, health sector organisations, the general public, the vaping and tobacco industry, and retailers. Focus groups run by Hāpai te Hauora and Tala Pasifika resulted in 919 submissions from Māori and Pacific peoples.
The submissions have now been published: