The New Zealand Vaping Regulatory Authority is reviewing each of the 8,083 vaping substances notified in New Zealand to identify any that may not meet product safety requirements into e-cigarettes.

So far, the authority has found no problems with 2,374 vaping substances. An additional 3,413 vaping substances have been identified for more detailed review or clarification of information provided in product notification to the Authority. In many cases, the problem may be related to an accidental error or omission that does not cause any problems with the vaping product sold.

Authorities are required to be notified of all vaping products, and the notification process automatically flags products containing known hazardous chemicals for review, and notifiers are not allowed to notify products with nicotine levels that exceed legally permitted levels.

Under these regulations, when a product is notified to all e-cigarette notifiers who are still responsible for ensuring the information, the Authority does not individually evaluate or test the product, they provide accurate information about their product in the notification, and that their product complies with product safety Require.

However, to provide additional assurance, the Authority is assessing each notification that requires further clarification to determine whether non-compliant vaping products are being sold in New Zealand. If a potentially non-compliant product is identified, the Authority will contact each notifier (New Zealand importer or manufacturer) of the product, asking them to confirm product details, withdraw the product if non-compliant or provide further information to ensure product compliance regulation.

Suppliers who do not respond to this request will be followed up with additional support and education. Those who continue to supply or sell non-compliant products may face enforcement action by authorities or smoke-free law enforcement officers, and may be prosecuted for selling illegal vaping products.

The Authority is taking these steps amid concerns that some notifiers and retailers are confused about the legally permitted levels of nicotine salts in vaping products, and that some products sold in New Zealand may exceed these legal limits.

In response to these concerns, the Authority sent a letter on October 27 to all specialty e-cigarette retailers and notifiers asking them to review all products to ensure they comply with the law and withdraw any products that have not been complained about.

Today, the Authority is again writing to all specialist e-cigarette retailers and notifiers reminding them of their legal obligations and reiterating the legal restrictions on nicotine salts that apply to New Zealand.

The Authority is also in the process of establishing a new testing regime that will see vaping products purchased to be tested for their ingredients and nicotine levels to ensure they are not subject to complaints.

The Authority remains committed to supporting the vaping industry to minimise the harm caused by vaping products, recognising that a large number of products are already sold legally in New Zealand which could provide tools to help people quit smoking. This commitment includes ongoing efforts to raise awareness of regulatory requirements and, where needed, enforcement action.

At this stage, there is no evidence that vaping products sold in New Zealand are high enough in nicotine to significantly increase the risk of harm to users. The main risk of vaping products with nicotine levels above the levels permitted in New Zealand is that they are more likely to increase a person's nicotine addiction.

Compliance with vaping products will continue to be reviewed as a priority, and swift action will be taken when a significant risk to public safety is deemed to be associated with any of these products.

Additional information on e-cigarette regulations

Vaping products are regulated under the Smoke-Free Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 (the Act), and specific vaping regulations introduced in November 2020 set some restrictions and requirements for all vaping products sold in New Zealand.

All vaping products sold in New Zealand must be notified through the Authority's Health Advice and Regulation Platform (HARP) database. Products that are not notified or incorrectly notified cannot be legally sold in New Zealand.

One of the requirements at the time of the notification was that vaping substances sold in New Zealand must not have a free base nicotine concentration of more than 20mg/mL or a nicotine salt concentration of 50mg/mL. The two separate restrictions reflect that some e-cigarette substances use nicotine extracted from the tobacco itself as the free base, while others mix nicotine with an acid, such as benzoic acid, to form a salt.

The Authority recently reviewed the restrictions on nicotine salts after some concerns were raised about the interpretation of nicotine salts. Following this review, the Authority has confirmed that the 50mg/ml nicotine salt limit meets the legal intent of the regulation and will continue to be applied across the industry.

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