Vaping and tobacco compliance monitoring

Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Health work together to ensure consistent monitoring, education and enforcement of tobacco and vaping retailers across the country. Health New Zealand’s local presence allows for direct engagement with retailers and communities while the Ministry of Health provides national oversight and regulatory guidance. Together, this partnership strengthens compliance activity and helps reduce the harms associated with vaping and tobacco products.  

The graphs below provide an overview of Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Health’s compliance activity primarily focused on preventing sales to minors.

Activity by enforcement officers has significantly increased over the past year. This reflects improvements in national coordination, priority setting, training, and recruitment.  

A CPO is where a person purchases a non-compliant product or a person under the age of 18 purchases a tobacco or vaping product.

About 9 in 10 vaping retailers are complying with the law and not selling products to minors. While most non-compliant retailers are issued with an infringement fine of $2,000, we continue to educate and remind all retailers of their legal responsibilities.  

Infringements issued under the Smokefree Act increased significantly in the January to March 2026 quarter. This reflects increased monitoring of visibility restrictions following the introduction of requirements in June 2025 to reduce the visibility of vaping products.

Note: The figures published on this page are subject to periodic updates. As data is reviewed and reconciled, minor adjustments may occur, and previously reported numbers may change slightly over time. These updates reflect ongoing efforts to ensure the information provided is as accurate and complete as possible.