Health experts appear to have differing opinions on the Government’s latest crackdown on vaping, which seeks to stop teenagers from developing nicotine addiction.
The new regulations set out to limit flavours that attract young people, as well as restrict the sale of cheap disposable vapes.
It also means new vape stores will be unable to open within 300 metres of schools or marae.
The move has been welcomed by educators, business owners and health experts - but there appears to be some disagreement as to the extent of the rules.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s Letitia Harding told Breakfast the laws don’t go hard enough.
“We’re a little bit surprised that it didn’t go harder,” she said.
She wanted to see a restriction on the number of vape shops in the country.
“There was no talk of capping the number of specialist vape retailers around the country, and we now have 1290.
“Just to put that in perspective, just two weeks ago, we had 1270, so we’re surprised.”
Harding said the number of stores made access for young people incredibly easy, which pulled them into nicotine addiction.
However, not all shared this perspective. Also speaking to Breakfast, Dr George Laking from UOA Centre for Cancer Research said the rules are “proportionate” to the situation.
He said the minister had “done well” with the regulations, striking a balance between stopping youth vaping and allowing people to use it as a tool.
“It’s still gonna be an issue to some extent. That has to be said.
“The whole thing about this, though, is to find the right balance because, just now, smoking continues to kill 5000 people in New Zealand a year,” Laking said.
“Vaping has a really important part to play in stopping smoking in this country.”
This point was rebutted by Harding, referencing overseas programmes that seek to get people off cigarettes with vapes.
“I mean, we should be looking at the data that is out there, where these products have been used successfully - it’s been with intense wraparound behavioural support, not going into a vape store to buy a vape.
“It’s an incredibly difficult product to give up,” she said.
Laking continued to look at it from a health perspective rather than an addiction - saying the harm caused by vaping has far less of an impact than tobacco.
“I can’t really understand why the ASRF is going so hard against vaping,” he said.
“It’s actually been very hard to demonstrate an appreciable burden of illness associated with vaping.
“Certainly, there are indicators that it may be adverse to health, but in terms of actually translating that into a real illness that people suffer, that’s been hard to demonstrate.
“Whereas with smoking, people are ill pretty much straight away as soon as they smoke, so the danger is that much greater."
The new rules will come into place in August.
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