A West Auckland school board member has organised to protest a vape store opening 30 metres away from her education centre, and says many schools have been “thrown under the bus” by the Government.
Tammy Downer, a member of the Parakai School Board, told Breakfast that a vaping supply store opening right outside the gates of the primary school is concerning.
“There is so many issues with vaping in our wider community, [young children] year 5 and below are picking up vaping, and this is just exposing them to it every day. Two of the key factors that are going to influence whether a child starts vaping or not is the advertising that they’re exposed to, and the appeal of the flavours that come with these speciality vape stores.”
The school board has spoken to the owner, and Downer said that the board had made it “very clear” they didn’t want a vape shop near their school.
“It’s not good for our children,” Downer said.
“[The vape shop owner] is exploiting the situation, the Government has said that they’re going to introduce these rules, and then not followed through, and the owner has exploited the situation by getting in before [the rules] apply. And the building owner has allowed it.”
Downer said the board had reached out to the owner of the shop.
“We’ve heard excuses. Considerations of potentially changing hours that [the shop] is open, but no concessions to stop the store.
“I’ve reached out to the Health Ministers; I’ve reached out to all of our MPs to try and raise awareness of this and I’ve had no response.”
Even though the laws on vape stores have not yet changed, Downer still believed this store should not be allowed to open in such proximity to the school.
“Are you prioritising profit over children? Because we know, there is so much research that shows how this can impact our children, the addiction, that they get to the nicotine effects their developing brains in significant ways, they have trouble with attention, they have trouble with learning, with memory, and these are damages. That doesn’t go away.
“[The children have] been thrown under the bus by the Government as they target their smokefree number with no consideration to vaping and who its harming.”
Downer said she created a Facebook page for the protest, which has garnered 150 people registering their interest, with the school board, teachers and members of the community set to partake.
In June, the Government announced that it would be cracking down on vapes, banning most disposable vapes, removing the alluring names on vape flavours and not allowing new stores to be set up within 300 metres of a school or marae. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has previously said this ban would not apply to existing retailers.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson told Breakfast: “The amended regulations are expected to be published in August 2023. Once the Cabinet decision is made, we will provide further detail around the new requirements, including information on implementation timelines and the requirements for regulated parties. We’re keen to enact the regulations in a timely manner, and this includes the proximity rule which prohibits new specialist vape retailers from starting to operate near schools and marae.”
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