New Zealand has Four Times as Many E-Cigarette Shops as KFC and McDonald's
On 21 July, the Otago Daily Times reported that new research has revealed that specialist e-cigarette retailers now have four times more shops than McDonald's and KFC, and more than the number of community pharmacies in the country.
The number of specialist e-cigarette shops has almost doubled
The New Zealand government announced a series of measures to tackle e-cigarettes back in June, including a ban on new e-cigarette shops within 300 metres of schools and Mari Cultural Centres (a cultural gathering place for New Zealand's Aboriginal Māori community, used for cultural, social and religious events).
Professor Janet Hoek of the University of Otago Wellington points to a June 2022 study that found there were 645 specialist e-cigarette retailers (SVRs) in New Zealand, 613 of which were less than 1 kilometre from a school.
Since that study, the number of specialised e-cigarette shops has almost doubled.
While these proposals provide some protection for young people, the omission of "shop density measures", the lack of retrospective authority and the lack of a limit on the overall number of shops are of concern.
She said:
"By way of context, there are currently four times the number of SVRs than there are McDonald’s and KFC stores, and SVR outlets now exceed the number of community pharmacies in the country,"
The E-Cigarette Act allows regular shops to sell e-cigarette products with tobacco, menthol or mint flavours, while specialist shops, which are R18 shops, can sell the full range of flavours.
The regulations implementing the Act come into force in August 2021, and as of November last year, the Electronic Cigarette Regulatory Authority had approved 671 applications for specialist e-cigarette shops. By the end of March this year, another 534 applications had been approved.
Hawk has found that more and more small retailers, often dairy owners, are parceling out their shops into specialty e-cigarette shops.
"The evolution of these ‘stores-within-a-store’ means specialist vape stores are now located adjacent to schools and playgrounds, a development unlikely to support the legislation’s aim of minimising harm to young people and children. As long as vape stores operate, measures should limit young people’s exposure to vaping products. Specifically, retail displays in generic outlets should be disallowed and no store should feature vaping product displays that may be seen from outside that store."
"Phasing down" the number of e-cigarette shops
The increase in the number of e-cigarette shops has, to a certain extent, created problems for the regulation of the industry. Some in the industry would like to see e-cigarettes classified as "smoking cessation products".
Cody Peneamene, business development manager for Vaporium, an e-cigarette shop, said he would welcome any measure that would bring the market back into the "cessation business rather than the recreational business."
"We’re seeing this proliferation of stores that focus predominantly on disposable vapes."
Mr Peneamene said restrictions on e-cigarettes around schools would curb the recreational market, which was "ultimately a good thing".
He thought a "phase-down" policy might be a good idea, and that Vaporium was "broadly supportive and supportive of the Department of Health's regulatory measures".
"It’s unnecessary, especially for a regulated product that should be treated as a health-based approach."
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