The move would aim to prevent minors from starting to smoke disposable vapes.
ADVERTISEMENTNew Zealand's government has said it will ban disposable e-cigarettes, or vapes, and raise fines for people who sell these types of products to minors.
It comes less than a month after New Zealand repealed a law from the previous left-leaning government to phase out tobacco smoking.
That law would have required reduced nicotine levels and placed a lifetime ban on cigarettes for anyone born after 2008.
New Zealand’s Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said on Wednesday that e-cigarettes remain "a key smoking cessation device" and the new regulations will help prevent minors from taking up the habit.
"While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rapid rise in youth vaping has been a real concern for parents, teachers and health professionals," Costello said.
Fines for retailers
Under the new laws, retailers that sell vapes to children under 18 years of age will face fines of up 100,000 New Zealand dollars (€55,590), while individuals will be fined 1,000 New Zealand dollars (€556).
Other regulations introduced will prevent e-cigarettes from being sold with images that might appeal to young people or with enticing names.
Other countries have made similar moves against disposable e-cigarettes.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that disposable vapes would be banned in the UK in a bid to curb youth smoking last year.
"The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable," Sunak said.
Australia also placed a ban this year on disposable single-use vapes.
