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The Law changes from 17 June 2025
From 17 June 2025, some significant changes to the Act came into effect to reduce the appeal of vaping products. These included::
- An infringement fine of $2,000 was introduced for breaching advertising restrictions. Increased prosecution fines have been in place since December 2024. These are outlined below in the penalties section.
- Specialist vape retailers (SVRs) can no longer communicate about vaping products to their existing customers. This removed an exemption that allowed SVRs to send promotional material to their existing customers.
- Internet retailers cannot display vaping products, including pictures of products on their websites.
- Specialist vape retailers (and their online stores), can no longer offer rewards involving vaping products.
Definition of advertising
It is prohibited by section 23 of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 (the Act) to encourage the use, promote the sale, or notify the availability of regulated products or promote smoking or vaping behaviour.
A regulated product (vaping, tobacco, herbal smoking product) advertisement means any words, whether written, printed, or spoken (including on film, video recording, or other medium, or broadcast or telecast), and any pictorial representation, design, or device, used to:
- encourage the use of a regulated product
- notify the availability of a regulated product
- promote the sale of a regulated product
- promote smoking or vaping behaviour.
The Act also provides some examples of what an advertisement is, which include:
- any trade circular, any label, and any advertisement in any trade journal
- any depiction of a regulated product or a regulated product trademark in a film, video recording, telecast, or other visual medium where in return for that depiction any money is paid, or any valuable thing is given, to any person
- the use of the company name of a regulated product manufacturer in any advertisement or promotion to the public where the company name or any part of it is used as, or is included in, a regulated product trademark.
Information that can be provided to customers
A retailer (including an online retailer) can provide some information to customers. This information is limited to identifying the regulated product available for purchase in that location and specifying its price.
The information that can be provided to identify the product is limited to:
- written or spoken word only
- the brand of regulated product
- the variant name
- the amount or quantity or size
- the price.
This information must be displayed in the following format:
- printed or handwritten black lettering
- typeface no larger than Helvetica 16 pt.
Advertising that is allowed
Certain forms of advertising are allowed, and are outlined in sections 24, 25 and 27 of the Act. The prohibition on advertising does not include the following activities, provided they comply with relevant regulations:
- price lists given to retailers, provided they display any required health messages
- advertisements published by a manufacturer in magazines that are intended only for distribution to their employees
- public health messages that are issued by the Director-General of Health and published by a public health service or a person funded by a public service
- the display of vaping products that are available for sale within the specialist vape premises. These products must not be displayed in a way that makes them visible from outside their place of business (store)
- information provided in a retailer’s place of business relating to vaping being a less harmful alternative to smoking, which include one or both of the following (see information on Notices and signage requirements):
- “Completely replacing your cigarette with a vape will reduce harm to your health”
- “If you smoke, switching completely to vaping is a much less harmful option”
- advice given by a suitably qualified health worker to help people switch from smoking to vaping
- research relating to notifiable products, or about encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful products
- information provided by manufacturers or importers to retailers about the use of notifiable products, including:
- the correct use, handling, storage, refilling, recharging, or disposal of the product;
- the consequences of incorrect use of the product; and
- handling precautions to take before and during use of the product.
- price lists in a retailer’s premises, on their website, or on automatic vending machines, provided:
- they only identify the vaping products available
- they use only printed or written words (or spoken words, in the case of a retailer’s premises)
- public notices indicating that regulated products are generally available and the location(s) where they can be purchased – using only printed or written words, and provided that they comply with any regulations (see information on Notices and signage requirements)
- the retailer’s name or trade name displayed outside the retailer’s place of business, provided the name:
- does not signify regulated products can be purchased,
- is not a trademark of a regulated product, and
- is not the name of a manufacturer or importer of regulated products (except for specialist vape retailers).
- information provided, by a specialist vape retailer, relating to the safe use of regulated products available for purchase in their approved vaping premises.
Examples of offences
The following examples of advertising would appear to be non-compliant with the Act:
- displaying images of regulated products, including vaping products – online or in a store
- using banners, posters, or TV displays to promote regulated products
- advertising or posting about vaping products on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Google business listings
- publishing blog posts that encourage the use, promote the sale, or notify the availability of vaping products.
Discounts and giveaways
Discounts, giveaways and promotions are prohibited in relation to all regulated products. Regulated products are smoking, vaping and herbal smoking products.
For clarity, it is prohibited to:
- give away any regulated products,
- discount regulated products at retail,
- offer rewards, cash rebates or gifts for the purchase of regulated products, or
- offer lotteries or games to people who buy regulated products.
Displaying notices about product availability
Retailers may post notices stating that vaping products are available for purchase. These notices must strictly adhere to the following format:
- the phrase “VAPING PRODUCTS AVAILABLE HERE” not larger than Helvetica typeface 70 pt
- the phrase “No sales to persons under the age of 18”, in lettering not smaller than Helvetica typeface 40 pt
- notice size must not exceed A4
- text must be black on a white background, either printed or handwritten
- the notice may only be displayed where vaping products can be purchased
- limits on the number of notices that may be displayed inside a retailer’s place of business:
- one notice in stores under 200 m²
- up to two (2) notices in stores between 200 m² and 500 m²
- up to three (3) notices in stores over 500 m².
Notices and signage requirements
Where a retailers offers vaping products for sale they must display health information, warnings and purchase age information. In these situations, retailers:
- must display purchase age (R18) at each point-of-sale for notifiable products in English and te reo Māori
- can display approved product availability notices in English
- can display approved harm reduction notices in English or an accurate translation of the messages in another language
Penalties for advertising violations
From 17 June 2025, infringement fines may be issued for any breaches of advertising restrictions under section 23 of the Act. This means that the Ministry can issue a fine without taking a prosecution.
If successfully prosecuted, fines will vary by business type:
- Manufacturers, importers, and distributors:
- up to $600,000 for tobacco products
- up to $200,000 for vaping or smokeless tobacco products
- Large retailers:
- up to $200,000 for tobacco products
- up to $70,000 for vaping or smokeless tobacco products
- In any other case:
- up to $50,000
