Vaping Ban
New Zealand moves to ban vaping ads, sales to minors
(Reuters) – New Zealand’s government said on Sunday it will introduce laws banning all advertisements of e-cigarettes and the sale of such products to people under 18 in a move to regulate a market that has been under pressure globally.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-vaping/new-zealand-moves-to-ban-vaping-ads-sales-to-minors-idUSKCN20H00M
A string of vaping-related deaths and illnesses tied to e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapor, often flavored, without smoking, have been reported in the United States, leading to lawsuits and restrictions.
The New Zealand bill, posted on the health ministry’s website, also seeks to ban e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in smoke-free areas, restrict who can sell them and give the government the powers to recall or suspend vaping products.
“We are making sure that we are protecting our kids but at the same time ensuring that smokers who want to use vaping as a quit tool still have access to those products,” Associate Health Minister Jeny Salesa told state-owned TVNZ.
Although the number of people smoking has steadily fallen in New Zealand, according to official data, nearly one in eight adults, or close to half a million people, are regular cigarette smokers.
The government said in the bill, which will be proposed to parliament on Monday, that it “acknowledges” that vaping and smokeless tobacco products are less harmful than smoking and the bill would exempt vaping products from some of the provisions that apply to tobacco products.
“(The bill) enables all retailers to display products in-store, in contrast to requirements that require tobacco products to be out of the public’s sight,” the government said.
In the United States, the Trump administration earlier this year banned some popular e-cigarette flavours to curb rising teenage use of vaping products, allowing only menthol and tobacco flavours to remain on the market.
The New Zealand government came short of prohibiting flavours, but the bill limits general stores, such as convenience outlets, to selling only three flavours: tobacco, mint and menthol.
“Flavors may be used to attract children and young people to vape or use smokeless tobacco products, however, they also seem to be an important factor in supporting smokers to switch,” the government said in the bill.
Bluffing on ciggy ban next
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=201105&story_id=50022661&d_str=20181012
Opponents of Carrie Lam’s policy to soon ban e-cigarettes have challenged the government to outlaw traditional cigarettes as well.
Lam’s response: she would not rule out doing so in the long run.
Speaking on radio, Lam said the government’s go-to measure to reduce the smoking population has always been raising the tobacco tax.
But she said she does not need the tobacco tax at all and would not mind a total ban on all cigarettes.
A caller asked: “We all know that cigarettes are harmful to health, but why didn’t you also ban traditional cigarettes? People using e-cigarettes will now turn to traditional cigarettes.”
Lam said since traditional cigarettes have been around for a long time, there are established measures to regulate them.
She added a bold idea like having a timetable to ban traditional cigarettes is possible “because I am relatively bold.”
However, Tsang Kwok-hang of the Asian Vape Association said the policy is like banning air guns but not real guns and said it would wipe out the small and medium-sized e-cigarette enterprises in Hong Kong.
“It’s like taking a step back. The tobacco market is dominated by several companies and this policy would force smaller companies and e-cigarettes stores to close down,” he said.
A dozen newspaper vendors also voiced their concerns, saying they are worried the ban would drive smokers to purchase heated tobacco products from illegal channels.
The group submitted a petition to lawmakers, hoping the government would drop the ban and regulate heated tobacco products, so vendors would not suffer from a loss of sales.
Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the government changed its plan from mere regulating to banning e-cigarettes because it saw a huge backlash from the medical and education sector.
“We also saw studies from the US, Italy and Japan – countries that have not banned but have regulated e-cigarettes – showing that regulation would make it easier for teenagers to try the product,” she said.
Asked if she was worried the ban would force e-cigarette users to turn to traditional cigarettes, Chan said in her experience control policies have been effective in encouraging smokers to quit.
Ban unlikely to push smokers back to tobacco: govt
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/video-gallery.htm?vid=1422496
The Secretary for Food and Health, Sophia Chan, on Thursday played down fears that a ban on e-cigarettes could turn people using them to traditional tobacco products instead.
Chan said the people who raise such fears do not have actual proof to back up the claim.
The secretary said that whenever a new anti-smoking policy was introduced in the past, many people quit smoking. But she didn’t offer any figures for this.
Chan said the proposal to ban e-cigarettes was made after data from surveys conducted in recent months found that many local children are into the products.
She stressed that e-cigarettes have been branded as less harmful in order to attract young smokers, making them unaware how dangerous they can be.
The original plan was to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, but Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed an outright ban on importing, selling and promoting such products during her Policy Address on Thursday.
The ban was supported by many in the medical and education sectors, with both sectors’ lawmakers calling for such a move on Tuesday.