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About the age restriction for vaping and other regulated products
Tobacco products and notifiable products (vaping products, smokeless tobacco products, and herbal smoking products) are not allowed to be sold to anyone under 18 years (minors).
This means:
- An employer may also be liable for any breach by their employees or agents, regardless of the breach being carried out with the employer’s knowledge or approval.
- Tobacco products or notifiable products sold to someone over 18 must not be delivered, or arranged for delivery, to someone under 18 years.
- Tobacco products or notifiable products must not be supplied in a public place, directly or indirectly, to anyone under 18 year of age.
Not complying with these restrictions may result in suspension of your approval, a $2,000 fine, conviction or the removal of your ability to sell products for a period of up to 3 months.
Steps you can take to make sure you don’t sell to a person under 18
The Ministry of Health strongly recommends that you take all reasonable steps and exercise due diligence to prevent the sale of vapes or cigarettes to under-18-year-olds from your store.
As a starting point, some steps you could take are to:
- Ensure all your staff know that it is illegal to sell to under-18s, and that if they do sell to an under 18-year-old, they or your business may receive an infringement notice or be prosecuted. It is important to remind staff of this often, in writing and by talking to them, so they know that your expectation is that they will always comply with the law.
- Require your staff to ask for an evidence of age document (ID) from any person who looks under 25 years old if that person wants to purchase cigarettes or vapes. It can be difficult to judge a person’s age by physical appearance alone.
- Ensure that your staff understand that the only approved evidence of age document (ID) that is acceptable is a:
- New Zealand photo Drivers License
- Valid Passport (NZ or international)
- HAZ Card
- Kiwi Access Card
- Keep an eye on your staff to make sure they are complying with the law. How you do this will depend on your staff, your store and what other systems you have in place for staff supervision.
Specialist vape retail stores are restricted 18 areas
For specialist vape retailers there is an additional requirement to take all practicable steps to prevent anyone under the age of 18 years from entering their approved vaping premises.
Some examples of all practicable steps may include:
- Clear, identifiable process and arrangements for points of entry (e.g, a controlled door release) to allow for checking for a person’s age
- Meeting people and customers at the door - a staff member is present to check the age of customers before they enter the store
- Signage outside the retail premises that indicates under 18s are not permitted to enter.
There are no restrictions on under 18s entering general retail stores, these include dairies, supermarkets and gas stations that only sell tobacco, menthol and mint (including spearmint and peppermint) flavours. These retailers must not sell tobacco products or notifiable products to anyone under 18 years.
Guidance for internet sales to under 18s
It is an offence to sell and/or supply regulated products to anyone under the age of 18 years. As a retailer with an internet site that sells regulated products which include tobacco, vaping products, smokeless tobacco , and herbal smoking products it is your responsibility to meet your legal obligations under the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act (the Act).
Not complying with these restrictions may result in a fine of up to $100,000.
The Ministry of Health monitors internet sites for compliance and encourages the use of the following measures to reduce the potential of selling to minors:
1. Warning of R18+ entry into internet sites
Age verification to enter an internet site should confirm if the customer is over 18 years old.
A tick box or statement from the customer that simply agrees that the customer is 18 years of age or older is not sufficient and cannot be used as a defence under section 40 of the Act.
2. Proof of age
Photographic identification should be required and checked to confirm a customer's age. This may be identification such as a NZ drivers licence, NZ Passport or 18 + (Kiwi Access) card uploaded to the internet site. Internet sites may also offer customer accounts that can hold age verification information for returning customers.
3. Correct identification of customer
Sufficient checks or systems that ensure the order name, the shipping name and the name on the purchasing card matches. It is not recommended that internet sites accept ‘Prezzy’ cards or gift cards that do not require a name on the purchasing card.
4 Appropriate delivery methods
Delivery of any regulated product should include identifying the correct person (the customer) and age verification of that customer. It is important for every internet site retailer to have a robust policy and assurances with any internal or external delivery services relied on to deliver regulated products.
Note: If you are a retailer and want to sell a full range of vaping products online, you must already have an approved vaping premises (i.e., a physical store) before you apply for an Approved Internet Site (AIS). It is an offence to sell tobacco, menthol and mint (including spearmint and peppermint) vaping products online without an approval.
Ensuring there are no sales of regulated products to minors is just one of the obligations retailers must meet under the Act. You can find further information about how you can comply with the Act on the Ministry of Health website:
