New vaping laws and regulations in NZ will be coming into effect, and it’s important you’re aware of the changes.
Are Disposable Vapes Getting Banned in NZ?
A commonly asked question is whether disposable vapes are banned in NZ. No, disposable vapes are not banned in New Zealand. However, single-use/disposable vaping devices will need to meet certain requirements, and have updated features, inline with the new regulations defined by the New Zealand Government.
What’s Changing
From the 21st of December, 2023, all single-use/disposable devices will need to incorporate the following features:
- Child safety mechanism
- Removable battery
- Concentration of nicotine must not exceed 20 mg/mL
From the 21st of March, 2024, all reusable and pre-filled pod devices will need to incorporate the following features:
- Child safety mechanism - UPDATE: The NZ Government has pushed this requirement back until October 2024
- Removable battery - UPDATE: The NZ Government has pushed this requirement back until October 2024
- Concentration of nicotine must not exceed 28.5 mg/mL
From the 21st of March, 2024, all e-liquid flavour names/descriptions must:
- Limit name/description to 1 or 2 flavour names found in this list, provided by the Ministry of Health
What’s a child safety mechanism?
The government has defined a child safety mechanism in relation to a vaping device as a mechanism or combination of mechanisms that—
- Requires at least 2 simultaneous or 5 sequential operations before the vaping device is activated; and
- Automatically deactivates the device within a period of no more than 10 minutes after vaping has stopped
In short, this means devices will feature a button that you press 5 times to unlock your device. They will also shut off after 10 minutes.
What’s Staying The Same
The taste! You’ll still be able to buy your favourite e-liquid flavours; they’ll just have updated names that comply with the new regulations.
Don’t worry; you’ll easily recognise your go-to vape juice flavour! Check out our blog to find your flavour here.
Aside from nicotine strength and flavour names, the regulations mainly affect devices.
Disposables
Disposable vapes now need to meet the above requirements. As well as this, flavour names have been updated.
To comply with the vaping regulations, as of the 21st of December, 2023, the following disposable devices are no longer available:
- alt. Nu Disposable 4%
- Bud Disposable 5%
- solo and solo Plus 5% and 3%
- VEX Disposable 3.5%
We've upgraded and updated our disposable vapes to be fully compliant with the vaping regulations.
Shop our range of fully compliant disposable vapes here!
Pods
We're updating and upgrading our pods to be fully compliant. We'll also be discontinuing selected flavours.
alt. Classic Pods are getting a pod upgrade that will increase the amount of e-liquid per pod while keeping the exact same flavour.
To comply with the vaping regulations, as of the 21st of March, 2024, the following pod products will no longer be available:
- alt. Nu Pods 4%
- alt. Classic Pods (the entire range will be discontinued and replaced with an upgraded pod featuring the latest technology)
- solo Pods 5%
- HAIZ Pods 3%
- VEX Pods 3.5% and 5%
You will still be able to buy all your favourite pod brands after March 21st. However, all pods will have a maximum nicotine strength of 28.5 mg/mL.
Shop our range of vape pods here!
Juices
We're updating our e-liquid brands to be fully compliant.
To comply with the vaping regulations, as of the 21st of March, 2024, all our e-liquid will have a maximum nicotine strength of 28.5mg/mL
Shop our range of e-liquid here!
Read more about the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act here.