New Zealand sets out youth vaping regulations

 New Zealand has set out new youth vaping regulations to limit youth vaping, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said on Monday.

Vapes should be as far from the minds and reach of children and young people as possible, so any locations within 300 meters of schools and marae (Maori meeting places) will be off-limits for new specialist vape shops, Xinhua news agency quotedVerrall as saying.

"Vapes will need child safety mechanisms and names like 'cotton candy' and 'strawberry jelly donut' will be prohibited," she said, adding only generic names which accurately describe the flavors can be used, such as "orange" or "berry".

The new regulations set the maximum nicotine levels to balance the need for sufficient nicotine to be an effective smoking cessation device, while limiting the risk of nicotine addiction, especially for young people, and particularly from cheap single-use vaping products, the Minister said.

The regulations, which will come into effect on September 21, require all vaping devices sold in New Zealand to have removable batteries, which will make them safer, she said.

"We're creating a future where tobacco products are no longer addictive, appealing, or as readily available, and the same needs to apply to vaping," Verrall added.