Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of notifiable products (vaping, smokeless tobacco and herbal smoking products) are required to comply with certain rules. Non-compliance with the rules set out in legislation is committing an offence and risks prosecution and/or a fine.
On this page:
- Removeable batteries
- Batch numbers
- Nicotine concentration
- Prohibition on cartoons and toys on packaging
- Child safety mechanism
- Notifiable Products - products that are no longer notified
- Speaking to customers about vaping products in-store
- New notification requirements for general retailers of vape products and other retailers of notifiable products
- Products need to be notified for sale in New Zealand
- Prohibitions on free/discounted/bundled distribution or supply
- Prohibition on sale of products for chewing (or other oral use)
- Prohibition on display of certain trading names for general retailers
- Record keeping and returns
Removeable batteries
The 2023 amendment to vaping regulations introduced a new requirement that all vaping devices must have a removeable battery.
A removeable battery means a battery that can be inspected, removed and replaced, without damaging the battery or the device, by a person using no more than a screwdriver.
From 21 October 2023, manufacturers and importers must notify vaping products that have a removable battery.
From 21 December 2023, manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell single-use vaping products that have a removable battery.
From 21 March 2024, NZ manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell reusable vaping products that have a removable battery.
Batch numbers
Batch numbers were an existing requirement for vaping devices, however, there was previously an exemption for single-use devices, allowing them to display the serial or batch number of the packaging instead. The 2023 amendment to vaping regulations has removed this exemption and extended the batch number requirement to cover all devices, including for single-use devices in instances where the device itself is the container, to ensure products can be traced in the event of safety concerns.
From 21 September 2023, manufacturers and importers must only notify vaping products with compliant batch numbers.
From 21 December 2023, manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell vaping products with compliant batch numbers.
Nicotine concentration
The 2023 amendment to the vaping regulations introduced new rules for the maximum allowable nicotine concentration in vaping substances.
The concentration of nicotine in reusable vaping products containing nicotine only in salt form must not exceed 28.5mg/mL.
For all other vaping products, the concentration of nicotine must not exceed 20mg/mL.
Additionally, the new regulations clarified that the nicotine concentration level in a single-use vaping product must be displayed on a product label in mg/mL. Displaying only as a percentage is not permitted.
From 21 October 2023, manufacturers and importers of notifiable products must only notify vaping products that meet the nicotine requirements for single-use and reusable products.
From 21 December 2023, manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell single-use vaping products that meet the nicotine requirements for single-use products.
From 21 March 2024, manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell reusable vaping products that meet the nicotine requirements for reusable products.
Prohibition on cartoons and toys on packaging
The 2023 amendment to vaping regulations introduced a prohibition on cartoons and toys on vaping and smokeless tobacco products. Those products must not have any feature that depicts cartoons or toys.
From 21 March 2024, manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must not sell vaping products or smokeless tobacco products that have any feature that depicts cartoons or toys.
The prohibition also applies to the packaging of a vaping or smokeless tobacco product, and any inserts into that packaging.
Child safety mechanism
The 2023 amendment to the vaping regulations introduced a new requirement that all vaping devices must have a child safety mechanism to prevent the device being activated or accidentally operated by a child.
A child safety mechanism is defined, in relation to a vaping device, as a mechanism or combination of mechanisms requiring at least two simultaneous, or five sequential operations to activate the device, and automatically turn off (deactivate) the device within 10 minutes of the last time it was used.
From 21 October 2023, manufacturers and importers must only notify vaping products that have a child safety mechanism.
From 21 December 2023, manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell single-use vaping products that have a child safety mechanism.
From 21 March 2024, NZ manufacturers and importers, distributors, and retailers must only sell reusable vaping products that have a child safety mechanism.
New notification requirements for general retailers of vape products and other retailers of notifiable products
New notification requirements for notifiable product retailers come into effect with the new 2023 vaping regulations. From 21 September 2023 general retailers of vape products and other retailers of notifiable products can notify the Director-General of Health that they are selling notifiable products.
By 1 October 2023, general retailers of vape products and retailers of notifiable products must have notified the Director-General of Health that they are selling notifiable products.
- Go to HARP/New submissions
- Click on 'Log in'
- Enter existing My Health Account username and password (If you need to create a new account please refer to Creating your account).
If it's your first time accessing HARP you will be asked to provide consent for HARP to access details of your account.
- Click Allow
- Click on Manufacturer/Importer/Distributor/Retailer
- Complete the online Form.
Your access request will be assessed with processing taking between 5–10 working days. After the assessment you will receive an email stating the access registration has been completed.
You then need to log in HARP, select NEW SUBMISSION and then under VRA Applications select Regulated Product Seller (RPS) Notification form. Complete the form and provide details of the products you intend to sell in New Zealand. You will be asked to state whether you will be selling at wholesale and/or retail, and you will need to select each of the product types you intend to sell:
- Herbal Smoking Products
- Smoked Tobacco Products
- Smokeless Tobacco Product
- Vaping Products
You are required to re-notify on an annual basis to ensure that market information is kept up to date and there is an assessment fee of $80+GST, excluding any card processing fees, for each notification. Once payment has been received your notification will be visible on your HARP dashboard. We may also publish a list of businesses selling regulated products on the Ministry of Health website.
NB. Each person that sells notifiable products must submit a Regulated Product Seller (RPS) Notification, and they will therefore need to register for access using the Manufacturer/Importer/Distributor/Retailer Registration. A person that sells notifiable products from more than one store only needs to complete one Regulated Product Seller (RPS) Notification. Note that a ‘person’ can be an individual (natural person) or a corporate (legal) entity.
Regulated Product Seller Notification 1 October 2023 deadline
We acknowledge that there is a short timeframe between the regulation coming into force on 21 September 2023 and the notification cut-off date of 1 October 2023. We have committed additional staff to processing the large number of registrations, but processing could take up to 5–10 days.
Given the situation, we will not take action against anyone who sells regulated products where the retailer has started the required registration and notification process.
Products need to be notified for sale in New Zealand
All vaping, herbal smoking and smokeless tobacco products (notifiable products) must be notified before they can be sold in New Zealand. This means that manufacturers and importers need to let the Vaping Regulatory Authority know about the notifiable products they intend to sell in New Zealand via the product notification process.
For retailers this means that you are prohibited from selling notifiable products that:
- do not have a current notification, unless it has been less than 3 months since the notification expired and there are no current safety concerns with the product
- do not comply with any product safety requirements set in regulations
- have been subject to a product recall.
A searchable database is available so retailers and the public can find out which products are currently notified.
Notifiable Products - products that are no longer notified
Notifiable products must not be sold in New Zealand if their notification has been withdrawn, suspended or cancelled. If a notification expires, the product notifier must stop selling it immediately, but provided there are no safety concerns with the product, retailers can continue to sell-through their existing stock for up to three months.
The current status of all products can be found on the notified products register, which is available on the Notified Products Database.
Speaking to customers about vaping products in-store
The rules for talking to customers about vaping products within your store depends on what type of retailer you are:
- General retailers are prohibited from discussions with customers that encourage the use of vaping products, promotes their sale, or notifies store visitors of product availability.
- General retailers can still identify products that are available for purchase, and their prices, and they can encourage smokers to switch to less harmful products.
- A specialist vape retailer who is inside their approved vaping premises may talk to customers about vaping products and provide guidance on the safe use of notifiable products that are available for purchase in their approved premises, provided they comply with any requirements in regulations.
Prohibitions on free/discounted/bundled distribution or supply
The rules around offering free or discounted vaping products are similar to those for tobacco products. These include that:
- vaping products must not be distributed or supplied for free or at a reduced charge, except:
- as part of a publicly-funded smoking cessation programme
- a Specialist Vape Retailer may supply free or discounted vaping products from their approved vaping premises or approved internet site
- vaping products must not be packaged together with other types of product or distributed/supplied with other types of product at a single price (ie, as a bundle). Note – They can be purchased at the same time as other products (as part of the same transaction) and then bagged or shipped together provided they are not sold as a package or sold together at a single price.
- only Specialist Vape Retailers may offer someone buying a vaping product a gift, cash rebate, or the right to participate in a contest, lottery or game, in consideration for their purchase.
- retailers must not be offered a gift, cash rebate, or the right to participate in a contest, lottery or game in relation to:
- the purchase or sale of vaping products by the retailer
- the advertising of vaping products in the retailer’s premises or on their website
- the location of vaping products in the retailer’s premises or in their website.
Prohibition on sale of products for chewing (or other oral use)
The prohibitions on describing tobacco products as suitable for chewing or other similar oral use are the same for vaping products. This means that vaping products must not be advertised, labelled or otherwise described as suitable for chewing or other similar oral use.
Any products where nicotine is absorbed primarily through the oral mucosa by chewing or similar oral use must not be imported for sale, sold, packaged or distributed in New Zealand. This prohibition does not apply to products that have been given consent or provisional consent as a medicine under the Medicines Act 1981.
Prohibition on display of certain trading names for general retailers
A general retailer must not display its name or trade name on the outside of its place of business (whether that is a physical store or a website) if the name:
- signifies that vaping products can be purchased
- is a trademark of a vaping product
- is the name of a manufacturer or importer of a vaping product.
This is not the case for Specialist Vape Retailers.
Record keeping and returns
Manufacturers and importers, distributors and retailers of regulated products must keep sales records and provide annual reports and returns to the Vaping Regulatory Authority: