95bFM ‘A catch-22’: Hunt for loopholes amidst significant changes to new vaping laws
11 March, 2025
Interview by Amani Sadique, adapted by Natasha Gordon
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s Letitia Harding says the government’s new vaping laws will result in companies searching for possible legislative loopholes and is concerned these changes are not enough to reach Smokefree 2025 goals.
News vaping law changes are set to come into effect on June 17th, which will result in specialist retailers only being able to display vaping products within their premises in a way that makes them not visible from outside the store, which will also include on websites.
These changes aim to reduce the number of tamariki vaping and developing nicotine addictions as we approach the end of 2025.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's Chief Executive, Letitia Harding, told 95bFM’s The Wire that some companies are already exploring website redesigns and new customer engagement strategies to bypass the upcoming changes.
“We can't really talk about what we've heard because, obviously, we don’t want people finding ways to get around the regulations, so it’s a bit of a catch-22.”
“What [vaping retailers] will likely do on their websites is provide quite strong descriptions of these products.”
Harding says social media and customer-based reviews could be potential loopholes to these new advertising rules because they are harder to regulate.
“They're still going to have reviews from customers, and I guess one of the things for us, and this is the case around the world, is how we really target social media when it comes to vaping because, obviously, that is a bit of a loophole at the moment.”
Harding says that although she is not confident that our progress towards Smokefree 2025 will be sufficient, the changes will be a positive step in the right direction.
“I think that come June 17th, it’s going to be very interesting to see how people cope with the regulations, who adheres to them, and hopefully there will be significant penalties for those who don’t.”
Harding adds that we may see a number of vaping retailers shut down due to the impact of stricter law changes on company profits.
“A reduction in retailers would be great, and I think it’s essential to enforce penalties for anyone breaking the rules after June 17th. This is going to require boots on the ground to check that retailers are complying.
“I also think it will be a blow for companies that won’t be able to advertise these products online with images that are very attractive and appealing, especially to youth.”
