Latest news with #vaping
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Vape rule requiring removeable batteries being lifted
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the decision would resolve a current court challenge. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The coalition is revoking the requirement for all vaping devices - including heated tobacco products - to have removable batteries. In a statement published on Thursday, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the decision - to take effect from 1 September - would resolve a current court challenge by Mason Corporation, which owns the vape shop Shosha. "Cabinet was advised that taking this step was the best way to resolve the case," Costello said. "This decision means the proceedings, which relate to regulations brought in by the Labour government, can be withdrawn." Costello said the move was not expected to increase smoking or vaping rates. The announcement does not affect the coalition's move to ban disposable or single-use vaping devices. That ban kicked in from 17 June. The former Labour government announced the requirement for removable batteries in June 2023 as part of a suite of changes to vaping rules. At the time, then-Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said the move would make the devices safer. The coalition later delayed the regulations from coming into effect until October 2024 "to ensure sufficient availability of appropriate reusable vaping products to continue to support people to quit smoking". Photo: 123RF RNZ last year revealed that Philip Morris had pulled its IQOS [ heated tobacco product (HTPs) from the shelves] due to the regulations around removable batteries. That proved to be a major roadblock to the government's controversial trial of halving excise tax on HTPs to encourage their use as a smoking cessation tool. Philip Morris has since released a new compliant IQOS product with a removeable battery. Documents showed Costello had tried to delay the battery regulations for two years, but Cabinet agreed only to a six-month delay from the original date of 21 March. The minister's support for HTPs as a less harmful alternative to smoking provoked outrage from the opposition parties and health experts who labelled it a "dangerous and radical experiment". Treasury identified a long list of concerns about the proposal at the time, but Costello said she relied on "independent advice" to the contrary .
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Alleged ties between NZ First and vaping companies a 'dangerous risk' to New Zealanders, anti-vape group warns
Photo: RNZ An advocacy group set up to keep children off nicotine wants New Zealand First to be stripped of the tobacco and vaping portfolio. The call from Vape-Free Kids comes after RNZ published documents alleging close ties between tobacco giant Philip Morris and New Zealand First. "Having such an influential party in government appearing to have a strong allegiance to the tobacco industry poses a dangerous risk to the health of New Zealanders," Vape-Free Kids co-founder Charyl Robinson, said. The documents, released as part of lawsuits against US vaping company JUUL, claim Philip Morris allegedly pitched draft legislation to NZ First as part of a lobbying campaign for its Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs). The documents also claim Philip Morris (PMI) corporate affairs staff "reached out to NZ First to try and secure regulation to advantage IQOS" - the HTP with a monopoly in the New Zealand market. Bower Group Asia, which advised JUUL on plans for a New Zealand launch, claimed NZ First leader Winston Peters "has a relationship with PMI" and "any regulation he champions is likely to be very industry friendly and highly geared towards commercial interests in the sector". The documents - largely dated from 2018 and 2019 - shed new light on controversial policy changes led by NZ First in the current coalition government, and the party's relationship with the nicotine industry. NZ First MP Casey Costello, as associate health minister, has delegated responsibility for tobacco and vaping policy. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Last year, NZ First MP and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello halved the excise tax on HTPs at a potential cost of $200 million, a move Treasury said would mainly benefit Philip Morris as the sole importer. Costello acted despite health officials telling her there was no strong evidence that HTPs worked as a smoking cessation tool or that they were significantly safer than cigarettes. Two senior corporate communication positions at Philip Morris are held by people who previously held top roles in NZ First. David Broome, chief of staff for NZ First between 2014 and 2017, is external relations manager at Philip Morris. Apirana Dawson - who was director of operations and research in the office of Winston Peters between 2013 and 2017, and led the election campaigns for the party in 2014 and 2017 - is the company's director of external affairs. Vape-Free Kids said it was time for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to remove the tobacco and vaping portfolio from New Zealand First. "He must step in and at the least reassign this portfolio to make it clear that public health policy in Aotearoa is not for sale," Robinson said. Vape-Free Kids co-founder Charyl Robinson Photo: Supplied But Luxon, addressing reporters on his way to Parliament, said Costello was a "great minister" and he was "very proud" of her record. RNZ put a detailed list of questions to Peters two days before publication but he did not address any of them, instead posting on social media that he was proud of NZ First's record on tobacco control. "Since New Zealand First's smokefree policy was implemented in 2020, the smoking rates have drastically decreased to the point where we are now one of the leading two countries in the world for lowest smoking rates. The smokefree legislation that we implemented is working." He did not address the allegations that New Zealand First received material from PMI, but his social media post said engagement with the tobacco industry was legitimate. "Multiple government departments have themselves proactively reached out to, and met with, 'big tobacco' for direct feedback and advice on tobacco legislation," he said on X. "Is [RNZ reporter] Guyon [Espiner] saying now that government departments including Customs and Health, have dodgy links to 'big tobacco' and that officials should be subject to his 'lynch mob' reporting," he asked. "This convenient omission by Guyon that government officials meet with 'big tobacco' for advice is palpable in its bias and contradiction." As a signatory to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), New Zealand promises to "protect policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry". "There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry's interests and public health policy interests," the FCTC says. The Health Ministry says the FCTC requires signatories to "observe complete transparency in their dealings with the tobacco industry". Since 2011 it has kept a public record of meetings with tobacco lobbyists. The allegations were among a trove of documents released on the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents online archive. Photo: RNZ Auckland University honorary research fellow Melissa-Jade Gregan - whose PhD explored how the alcohol, food, gambling, and tobacco industries influence politics - said New Zealand's lobbying laws were too lax. Gregan has extensively searched the JUUL papers, which are hosted on the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive, created in 2002 by the University of California San Francisco Library. The archive, which is still being updated, contains nearly 19 million documents, including 3.8 million relating to JUUL. "What we see through these documents isn't a conspiracy - it's standard practice for how these industries operate in New Zealand," she said. "The tobacco and vaping industries, alcohol, junk food, they've developed a sophisticated, effective approach to political influence that takes full advantage of our complete lack of lobbying regulations." Gregan said New Zealand's reputation for open and transparent government was largely a myth. "We have this political system where the industries causing health harm ostensibly have systematic and primarily unseen access to decision-makers." Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said RNZ's revelations showed why her members' bill, which would tightly restrict the influence of the tobacco industry on government, was needed. "Around the world, tobacco companies have a long history of influencing and weakening health policies to better suit their bottom line and here we see evidence of it happening in New Zealand." Verrall's bill, which would need to be drawn from the ballot to come before Parliament, would prohibit governments supporting the interests of the tobacco industry. It would also impose a six-month stand-down period before officials involved in tobacco policy could work for the industry. "It's time we get rid of the smokescreen and protect Kiwis from big tobacco's lobbying tactics - they have no place in health policy," Verrall said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Documents show alleged ties between NZ First and tobacco giant
New Zealand First should be stripped of the tobacco and vaping portfolio, according to an advocacy group set up to keep kids off nicotine. The call comes after RNZ published documents alleging close ties between tobacco giant Philip Morris and New Zealand First. Guyon Espiner broke the story, and spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside the crackdown on a flashy new generation of illicit vapes targeting US teens
U.S. officials are waging a robust crackdown on a surge of sophisticated illicit vaping products flooding U.S. markets, many of which appear designed to attract teenagers and avoid parental detection, an ABC News investigation found. The new generation of products, most of which are imported from China, feature vaping mechanisms that are concealed as backpacks, smartphone cases, highlighters and handheld video game consoles, officials said. The products, some of which include LED lighting, Bluetooth connectivity or hidden compartments, allow teens to vape discreetly while attempting to evade parents and teachers. "So it's very possible the child can go, 'Hey, mom and dad, I want to get these headphones, I want to get this video console,' and the parents unwittingly are buying their child vapes?" ABC News anchor Linsey Davis asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection official Eric Everson. "That could happen, yes," Everson said. 'Just a small fraction' Federal authorities are treating the deluge of vapes being smuggled into the country as an international threat to America's youth. In 2024, CBP seizures of " Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems" which include vapes had a domestic value of $34 million. And in just the first six months of 2025, CBP seizures had a domestic value of $60.3 million.. Despite a ban on flavored vapes, stores across the United States continue to sell cartridges like "pineapple express" and "killer custard blueberry." In Louisiana, federal agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been seizing vapes hidden in safes, vehicles, and elaborate concealments like trap doors. The agency told ABC News it is seizing "so much product" that officials have had to drastically increase the capacity of the holding facilities where they store seized products. It's the same situation in Chicago, where 4 million vape sticks sit in a law enforcement warehouse. "Do you have any sense what kind of percentage this is of all that's out there illegally?" Davis asked Everson regarding the 4 million vapes. "This is just a small fraction of the seizures we have here," Everson replied. 'Enticing to kids' The vaping industry, which has been around for more than a decade, is currently worth billions of dollars, according to industry experts and law enforcement. The CDC Foundation has found that more than 20 million e-cigarettes are sold in the U.S. each month. But experts suggest the illicit vaping industry is even bigger, with one think tank estimating that about 240 million illegal vaping devices were sold in the U.S. in 2024. It's part of an innovation boom, with the U.S. accounting for nearly two-thirds of Chinese vape exports, according to the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce. And although vaping rates among teens have tapered off in recent years, more than 1.6 million American kids reported using vape products in a 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey. MORE: Kid-friendly e-cigarette flavors driving increase in sales, report finds One ongoing trend among illicit vapes entering the country is that they often feature sugary flavors -- despite a 2020 nationwide ban on flavored cartridges – and sleek, colorful marketing that's geared explicitly toward young people, officials say. Brian King, a former official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said it's not just the flavors and the packaging used to lure young people, but robust marketing campaigns on popular social media apps. "It's a variety of factors," said King, who now serves as an executive vice president for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an advocacy group aimed at preventing teen tobacco use. "We do know that flavors are enticing to kids, but we also know that they're promoted in channels that can be appealing to kids, including on social media and elsewhere." According to the FDA, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among youth who reported current tobacco use. In some cases, the nicotine in some vape products is equal to 35 packs of cigarettes, according to experts, making them highly addictive and dangerous to children and young adults whose brains haven't yet fully developed. This past April, more than two dozen state attorneys general penned a letter asking the Trump administration for its support in "combating the flood of illegal Chinese products -- including illegal Chinese e-cigarettes marketed to minors." "While we are doing our best to fight the problem in the states, its nature and scope are international," the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general wrote. "President Trump can secure our borders against this influx of dangerous products and hold China accountable for preying on American youth." 'We can't rest on our laurels' Currently, there are 39 total vape products authorized by the FDA -- all tobacco and menthol flavored. And despite a nationwide prohibition on flavored cartridges imposed by the FDA in 2020, flavored products remain widely available in convenience stores, smoke shops, and online marketplaces across the country. The FDA has issued more than 800 warning letters to retailers for selling these products. In cities across the country, local law enforcement is cracking down on illicit vapes by going to smoke shops and seizing illicit products. "It's important, because you have people that are children buying these things," said Sergeant Michael Thorp with the New York Sheriff's Office. "You don't know what's in the product." MORE: Nearly $34 million worth of illegal e-cigarettes seized by federal officials Thorp told ABC News during a ride-along to vape shops across New York City that they find illicit vapes everyday. Despite the progress made by U.S. authorities in curbing illicit vape imports, King warned that a "rapidly dynamic landscape" makes vapes a persistent threat to American youth. "We can't rest on our laurels," warned King, who said authorities have to keep pace "as the landscape and manufacturers continue to evolve." "We must ... prevent these products from getting into kids' hands," he said. Solve the daily Crossword
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Teenager charged with selling vapes on WhatsApp
SINGAPORE: A teenager has been charged with selling vaporisers on WhatsApp and possessing vapes of her own. Albee Chai Buo Yin, 19, was given three charges on Tuesday (Jul 22) under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act for advertising electronic cigarettes, selling vapes and possessing vapes. According to charge sheets, the Singaporean sold three disposable vapes to a person named only as Javier via WhatsApp on Aug 3, 2024. She is accused of publishing an advertisement of imitation tobacco products by posting an image of an assortment of Lana e-cigarettes on WhatsApp on Oct 22 last year. Chai allegedly was found to have six disposable vapes and one vape with a pod in it on Dec 19 at a flat in Jurong West Street 91. Asked to give an indication of her plea, she said she would plead guilty and was given a date to do so in August. If convicted of selling vapes or advertising their sale, she can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both. If convicted of possessing vapes for purposes other than sale, she can be fined up to S$2,000. The charging comes after heightened enforcement by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and other ministries to crack down on vaping offences, especially among students. HSA said on Sunday that more than 2,500 reports of vaping were made in the first half of 2025, compared with over 3,000 such reports for the whole of 2024.
