In a bid to improve public health standards and prevent injuries caused by vaping products, a new law will ban and recall products with harmful ingredients, reports the New Zealand Doctor.

The new Smokefree legislation will means thousands of vape and smokeless tobacco products that contain potentially harmful ingredients will become illegal from 11 February. Consumers in New Zealand will also be given access to a database of vaping products showing and confirming its registration. As part of the new legislation, manufacturers and importers must report any adverse reactions to their products to the Ministry’s Vaping Regulatory Authority, according to the New Zealand Doctor.
Nabhik Gupta, spokesperson for New Zealand’s largest e-cigarette retailer Shosha, welcomed the move. “This will allow the Ministry of Health (MoH) to take a range of steps including declaring maximum limits for substances within a product, prohibit certain ingredients and even issue public warnings about a product, all at a granular level. In many ways we are moving closer to the regulatory levels and public health standards of the pharmaceutical industry,” he said.
Leanne French, an addictions counsellor agreed saying, “These changes will give smokers transitioning over to vapes more confidence as they look to give up smoking, knowing there is a greater level of Ministerial oversight around the safety of alternative products available on the market.”