Freedom of speech warning
Freedom of speech could be compromised by a blanket ban on vaping advertisements, the Government’s lawyer has warned.
In his report to Parliament, Attorney General David Parker said an important issue underlying his advice on the Bill was the lack of available evidence for harm associated with vaping.
Last month, the Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa announced sales of vaping products to under-18s will be banned, flavours restricted and vapers barred from lighting up in smoke-free areas.
Vaping will be brought closer
to tobacco laws under the proposed law change, including a prohibition on advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes.
Under the law, the sale of flavoured vaping products and e-cigarettes will be restricted to R-18 specialty stores.
The Government did not rule out a complete ban because it sees vaping as one way to help smokers quit.
Parker said parts of the proposed law (Smoke Free Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill) were inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
He specifically outlined prohibition of advertising, promotion and sponsorship; restrictions on the use of trademarks and the requirement of standardised packaging.
These provisions limited freedom of expression in a number of ways but his focus of his concern were the ‘‘extensive restrictions ‘‘on advertising and whether they were justified given the lack of evidence of harm’’.
He cited Treasury’s Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on the Bill, which notes the lack of conclusive evidence on the benefits or of harm of vaping products and that the scientific consensus was that vaping was significantly less harmful than smoking.
The RIS states that it was clear that vaping was significantly less harmful than smoking and it appeared likely that vaping could help people to stop smoking.