In February of this year, there were 666 registered e-cigarette retailers in New Zealand. Today, that number has exceeded 950. Letitia Harding, CEO of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, stated that the burgeoning market is outpacing growth in other areas traditionally viewed as public health concerns.
From this perspective, there are a total of 267 KFC and McDonald's restaurants in New Zealand. We have heard firsthand reports from the community stating their frustration with the abundance of e-cigarette shops that display their products in store windows throughout the area.
According to current regulations, only professional electronic cigarette shops are allowed to sell flavored e-liquids and disposable e-cigarette devices. Convenience stores and grocery stores are only allowed to sell tobacco or mint flavors, which are less attractive to young non-smokers. However, Hardin says that retailers are taking advantage of ambiguous regulations by splitting their existing establishments into two separate shops. A study from September of last year found that approximately 15% of e-cigarette specialty shops have made this conversion.
This is a loophole that many retailers have been taking advantage of in order to sell more e-cigarette products, and we have no way of regulating it because we have no evidence that people are going to these stores to buy e-cigarettes.
The density of retailers has raised widespread concern. According to RNZ, in Dargaville, local health officials have identified 15 retailers within a 1 km radius. Kaipara District Mayor Jason Smith expressed concern that the committee lacks national guidelines to control this "epidemic." In April, electronic cigarette retailer Shosha opened its 100th store, becoming one of New Zealand's largest retailers. Globally, the e-cigarette industry will reach a volume of $43 billion by 2023.
According to Harding, this trend is directly related to the growing number of young non-smokers who have developed a strong addiction to nicotine. Researchers at the Australian National University reviewed nearly 200 international studies and found that those who did not use e-cigarettes were three times more likely to start smoking than non-users. In Australia, liquid nicotine products are only available for prescription.
According to recent health surveys conducted by the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, the number of 15 to 17-year-old individuals who vape daily has increased from 2% to 6% between 2018 and 2021. For 18 to 24-year-olds, the number has increased from 5% to 15%.
A 2025 Smokefree Action (ASH) survey has found that nearly one-fifth of 14 to 15-year-old Māori girls in 2021 are daily e-cigarette users, while the number of Māori boys who use e-cigarettes at least once a month has increased from 19% in 2019 to 30% in 2021.
According to Haden, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation (ARF) frequently hears from parents who are worried about their teenagers becoming addicted to vaping at night or taking their e-cigarettes into the shower. Haden notes that some schools have begun installing detectors in bathrooms and confiscating up to 20 devices each week. Additionally, teenagers over the age of 18 who purchase nicotine-free e-cigarette products have been receiving supplemental nicotine products from e-cigarette retailers.
As the big tobacco companies have always claimed, they are not involved in the cigarette industry, but rather the nicotine industry, because that is what brings people back.
Supporters argue that compared to traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are not harmful and have been effective in helping smokers quit. However, a study conducted by Professor Janet Hoek of Public Health and Senior Research Fellow Lindsay Robertson from the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago found that the increase in youth vaping exceeds the decrease in smoking, suggesting that the number of young people using nicotine products is still on the rise.
This study was conducted prior to the rise of inexpensive disposable e-cigarette products which often contain up to 60mg/mL of nicotine. Due to the diversity of devices and e-cigarette products, it is difficult to make direct comparisons to cigarettes, but one study suggests that a 50mg pod can deliver nicotine equivalent to a pack of cigarettes. In the EU, the maximum allowable nicotine content for e-cigarette products is 20mg/mL. Disposable e-cigarettes have also received criticism for causing environmental harm as thousands of depleted lithium batteries are sent to landfills or discarded on streets.
According to Harding, the current stage of the Smoke-free Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill provides an opportunity to regulate the nicotine content of e-cigarette products and prevent the display of fashionable and colorful e-cigarette devices on the streets. The aesthetics of e-cigarette products sharply contrast with the horrifying images of dead bodies and diseased lungs on cigarette packaging–e-cigarettes have a smooth appearance with tropical fruit and cotton candy patterns. Healthcare professionals providing recommendations to the ARF hope to ban this type of advertising.
Dr. Stuart Jones, a respiratory advisor and consultant for the ARF Scientific Advisory Committee, stated that the proposed bill is a "game changer" in addressing the harmful effects of smoking, but it must also work to curb the growing use of e-cigarettes among young people.
We have seen too many young people become addicted to nicotine through the use of electronic cigarette products. The regulation of these products cannot be postponed any longer, as the scale of this problem will only continue to grow. It is urgent that we reduce the nicotine content in electronic cigarettes and remove retailers from school environments. Better regulation of these retailers is also necessary.
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