Govt getting tough on disposable vapes
The government is banning disposable vapes and increasing fines for retailers who sell to young people - up to $100,000 - under a new crackdown on youth vaping.
The maximum fine for retailers found selling vapes or other regulated products to under-18s will increase from $10,000 to $100,000, and the penalty for infringement offences will rise from $500 to $1000 for individuals and up to $2000 for businesses, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said.
“While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rapid rise in youth vaping has been a real concern for parents, teachers and health professionals.
“Reusable vapes are a key smoking cessation device and will remain available. But too many teenagers continue to use disposable vapes – they’re cheap and remain too easy to get, despite changes under the previous government. That’s why these cheap, single use vape products will be banned outright.”
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act will be amended to ban the manufacture and sale of disposable vaping products, and increase penalties for sales of cigarettes and vapes to minors.
Cabinet said a range of regulations will come into force tomorrow, including a ban on vaping products with images of cartoons or toys on the packaging, and limiting flavour names to generic descriptions.
Cabinet also agreed to introduce further requirements on specialist vape retailers, such as tighter restrictions on storefront displays and staffing requirements, with officials to conduct targeted consultation on these proposals.
“We will also review the licensing and compliance regimes around vaping so that the higher penalties for selling to under-18s are backed by stronger enforcement.”
To ensure sufficient availability of appropriate reusable vaping products to help support people to quit smoking, requirements for reusable vapes to have removable batteries and child proofing mechanisms will be deferred until October 1.