New Zealand Is About To Implement New Regulations For Disposable E-cigarettes. Retailers Are Eager To Launch Promotional Activities

According to New Zealand media ODT, e-cigarette retailers in New Zealand are encouraging consumers to stock up on disposable e-cigarette devices and offering large discounts on sales pricing in response to the upcoming ban on some e-cigarette products.
Starting from December 21st, disposable e-cigarettes will no longer be sold unless they comply with new regulations, including maximum nicotine limits, replaceable batteries, child safety features, and new labeling requirements.
Many retailers are holding clearance sales events, with equipment prices as low as $2, and many devices are also given away as free gifts with other products. One of the largest e-cigarette retailers, Shosha, is selling a series of "pre ban disposable e-cigarettes".
On the website of another retailer, Vaporium, it is written:
"E-cigarettes are about to be banned. Don't get trapped without e-cigarettes. Stuff these disposable e-cigarettes into your backpack and breathe a sigh of relief."
Retailer Vapor's website issues a warning for products that are about to be classified as illegal:
"Buy while you still have inventory!"
The New Zealand Department of Health stated that it has noticed an increase in the number of discounted disposable e-cigarettes sold, or an increase in giveaways.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health stated that as long as e-cigarette specialty stores comply with advertising regulations, there are no restrictions on selling e-cigarettes at a discounted price. Only regular retailers such as convenience stores or gas stations are prohibited from offering discounts.
The goal of the new regulations is to prevent young people from using e-cigarettes by targeting affordable, easily accessible (and environmentally damaging) products.
Ben Pryor, the director of retail brands Vapo and Alt NZ, stated that his company supports certain regulations, such as requirements for child safety.
But he believes that other measures are more based on "urgent policies" rather than evidence. Pryol stated that a maximum nicotine intensity of 20mg/ml is approximately one-third that of nicotine in tobacco, which can reduce the effectiveness of e-cigarette products as smoking cessation tools.
The limit of 20mg/ml complies with the limits of the European Union and other jurisdictions. New Zealand has a slightly higher limit of 28.5mg/ml for reusable electronic cigarettes.
Professor Robert Beaglehole, Chairman and Honorary Professor of Ash, acknowledges that politicians and health officials are trying to strike a balance between preventing teenagers from using e-cigarettes and maintaining e-cigarettes as a way for adults to quit smoking.
Despite the latest round of regulations being "out of good intentions," Bigger Hall said that the industry has moved forward. Many sellers have also created disposable e-cigarettes that can replace batteries, effectively avoiding new regulations.
The change in regulations has also raised the issue of how to handle electronic cigarettes that do not comply with regulations.
Pryol stated that although his company is able to redirect disposable e-cigarettes to Australia, thousands of disposable products from other retailers will be thrown into landfills.
The Ministry of Health stated that the responsibility for handling products should be borne by retailers. After the final sales date, the Ministry of Health will inspect retailers to ensure that they do not continue to sell disposable e-cigarettes, and violators will be fined up to $400000.
Electronic cigarettes are no longer allowed to be sold near schools or gross profit centers (maraes), but this does not affect the thousands of existing sales points, nor does it affect general retailers such as convenience stores or supermarkets.
Professor Hoek from the University of Otago hopes that using cigarettes is only considered a therapeutic product and can only be sold to consumers in specialty stores by trained individuals, so that they can help smokers transition to using e-cigarettes. She also hopes to ban advertising at sales points and introduce solid color packaging to prevent young people from using it.
The long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes are not yet clear. But Professor Hawke said that nicotine addiction itself has been proven to be harmful to teenagers, especially when it interferes with sleep and school.
The New Zealand and Singapore governments have stated that they will adjust some policies regarding e-cigarettes, including more severe penalties for sales to teenagers under 18 years old, considering requiring sellers to hold tobacco licenses, modifying e-cigarette equipment requirements, and reforming e-cigarette regulations.