New Zealand vaping industry advocates say retailers selling to minors are disrupting the industry and must be prosecuted.

Nancy Loucas, co-founder of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA), made the comments after the consumer TV show Fair Go, which conducted a hidden camera investigation that revealed three retail A business sells to children under 18 in Gisborne, a city on the country's North Island, one afternoon.

According to the AVCA, only six vape shops across the country have received infringement notices in the past two years.

"I am delighted that Deputy Health Minister Ayesha Verrall and the New Zealand Ministry of Health have committed to more compliance checks and enforcement," Loucas said. "No one wants kids to be vaping, so any rogue dairy owner needs to quickly throw the books at them. So far, no prosecutions have been filed, and this needs to change immediately."

Last June, the AVCA publicly called for stronger enforcement. At the time it said retailers had known right and wrong long enough. I respect the government's initial focus on educating retailers about the new laws, but now is the time to start enforcing them.

The AVCA claims that dedicated independent specialist vaping shops are not the main issue. Conversely, the problem arises when convenience stores divide a portion of their stores into specialty vaping stores, allowing them to sell a variety of flavors.

In an email to Vapor Voice, the AVCA said it was a cynical move that may be within the scope of new vaping laws, but requires more attention.

“These so-called vaping shops at the dairy convenience store end need more oversight before they can be approved, and then more enforcement. Overall, the provisions of the 2020 vaping legislation are working well, but the access of teens Still a work in progress," Loucas said.

A recent ASH survey on youth e-cigarettes confirmed that only 2% of youth e-cigarette users have illegally purchased their own e-cigarettes.

According to Lucas, the rest got it from their friends, siblings or parents.

The Smoke-Free Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment currently in Parliament aims to significantly limit the number of retailers by banning the sale of combustible tobacco and vaping products to persons born on or after 1 January 2009 .

The AVCA is encouraging supporters of New Zealand's Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) approach to submit comments on the bill to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health by 24 August.

“Members of Congress and officials need to pay close attention not to allow a handful of anti-vapers to hijack this important smoke-free legislation,” Loucas said.