November 26, 2019
Vape law delay means market sets rules
More than 60 health organisations, academics and schools have signed an open letter calling for Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa to urgently introduce legislation into the House to regulate vaping.
It says it’s a year since the minister promised such legislation.
Without rules in place, fierce competition and market forces are defining the vaping environment in New Zealand, as opposed to it being defined by the need to protect health.
ASH New Zealand director Deborah Hart says tobacco companies are irresponsibly targeting youth, while the potential to use vaping as a quit tool for smokers is being forgotten.
There is higher smoking prevalence among low-income groups, Māori and Pacific, with 34 percent of Māori adults being current smokers.
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