Privacy We intend to publish all submissions on the Ministry’s website. If you are submitting as an individual, we will automatically remove your personal details and any identifiable information. If you do not want your submission published on the Ministry’s website, please tick this box: Do not publish this submission. Your submission will be subject to requests made under the Official Information Act. If you want your personal details removed from your submission, please tick this box: Remove my personal details from responses to Official Information Act requests. If your submission contains commercially sensitive information, please tick this box: This submission contains commercially sensitive information. Declaration of tobacco industry links or vested interest As a to the global tobacco control treaty, the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, New Zealand has an obligation to protect the development of public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. To help meet this obligation, the Ministry of Health asks all respondents to disclose whether they have any direct or indirect links to, or receive funding from, the tobacco industry. The Ministry will still carefully consider responses from the tobacco industry, and from respondents with links to the tobacco industry, alongside all other submissions. Please provide details of any tobacco company links or vested interests below. Nothing to declare Please return this form by email to: ecigarettes by 5 pm, Monday 12 September 2016. If you are sending your submission in PDF format, please also send us the Word document.
A levy should fund the non-commercial information by government about the benefits, harms and availability of e-cigarettes – see q.4. This should be reviewed every five years Q8 Do you think quality control of and safety standards for ecigarettes are needed? Yes Additional comments: Because of the complexities involved, this area should be subject to an in-depth review of the available evidence, to be published before legislation is considered. At the least, any legislation should provide powers for these controls, even if they are not at first used. Area of concern Yes No Reasons/additional comments Childproof containers x Safe disposal of ecigarette devices and liquids x Ability of device to prevent accidents x Good manufacturing practice x Purity and of nicotine x Registration of products x A testing regime to confirm product safety and contents purity x Maximum allowable volume of e-liquid in retail sales x Maximum concentration of nicotine e-liquid x Mixing of e-liquids at (or before) of sale Other Q9 Are any other comments you would like to make? Additional information on sales and use Q10 Can you assist us by providing information on the sale of ecigarettes in New Zealand (for example, size of sales or range of products for sale on the local market)?
Yes, we agree that it is important for the SFEA to prohibit vaping in designated smokefree areas in the same way, as it prohibits smoking in such areas. E-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes and their use in public would give the appearance that cigarette smoking behaviour is more acceptable; and exposure to a new source of air pollution in places covered by smokefree policies. We also recommend that an amendment to the current SFEA be made to include e-cigarettes which essentially are the same as regular cigarettes and therefore, subject to the same policy that restricts smoking to designated areas. Q6 Do you agree that other controls in the SFEA for smoked tobacco products should apply to ecigarettes? For example: Control Reasons/ additional comments Requirement for graphic health warnings Disagree. There is growing evidence to suggest e-cigarettes are much less harmful than tobacco and can help smokers quit tobacco. However, consumers need clear indication of risk involved in consuming. Prohibition on displaying products in sales outlets Potentially could be appealing to children and young people. Restriction on use of vending machines Agree. Recommend prohibition of sales from vending machines. Requirement to provide annual returns on sales data Agreed. Information can be used as part of a monitoring tool. Annual returns can demonstrate hardware and volumes sold. Requirement to disclose product content and composition Full disclosure of product content and composition of each product. Will also ensure of nicotine is met as required. Regulations concerning ingredients (e.g. nicotine content and/or flavours) Recommend regulations are specific regarding the nicotine content (mg) and flavours. Recommend SFEA 1990 s31 (limits on harmful constituents) should apply. Requirement for annual testing of product composition Conduct annual and random testing. Prohibition on free distribution and awards associated with sales To be treated as the same as the SFEA. No free distribution or awards associated with sales. Prohibition on discounting In agreement that there will be no discounting on all e-cigarette products. Prohibition on advertising and sponsorship Highly recommend no advertising or sponsorship to avoid exposure to children and young people. Requirement for standardised packaging Regulatory measures applied to as for tobacco products to exposure and appeal to children and young people. Other Read other comments section. Q7 Do you think it is important for legislation to impose some form of excise or excise-equivalent duty on nicotine e-liquid, as it does on tobacco products? Yes No
Requirement for graphic health warnings √ There are no known serious health deficits, so the only reason would be to warn consumers nicotine may be addictive but it is thought that nicotine in e-cigarettes is probably less addictive than in cigarettes.(8,9,10) (8) Dawkins L, Turner J, Roberts A, Soar K. ‘Vaping’ profiles and preferences: an online survey of electronic cigarette users. Addiction, 2013 Jun;108(6):1115-1125 (9)Pellegrino R, Tinghino B, Mangiaracina G, Marani A et al. Electronic cigarettes: an evaluation of exposure to chemicals and fine particle matter (PM). Ann Ig. 2012; (10)Foulds J, Veldheer S, Yingst J, Hrabovsky S et al. Development of a questionnaire in a large sample of e-cig users. Nicotine Tob Res. 2015 Feb;17(2):186-92 Prohibition on displaying products in sales outlets √ We want smokers to switch to nicotine e-cigarettes. It is important that products can be displayed to enable purchase as are highly personal products. Restriction on use of vending machines √ Not required, it is unlikely retailers would want to sell nicotine liquids and via vending machines. There are too many choices. Requirement to provide annual returns on sales data √ Not necessary, this would be too onerous for small companies. Requirement to disclose product content and composition √ This should be similar to food and beauty products. Regulations concerning ingredients (eg, nicotine content and/or flavours) √ Some regulations are required: Nicotine – nicotine should be of a pharmaceutical grade Flavourings - food regulations should be required for all flavourings except those with known health risks. These should be banned. Requirement for annual testing of product composition √ Not necessary. Prohibition on free distribution and awards associated with √ We want to encourage smokers to try vaping. Free distribution and awards could increase the number of smokers trying nicotine cigarettes.
Q4 Do you think it is important for legislation to control advertising of ecigarettes in the same way as it controls advertising of smoked tobacco products? Yes No√ Reasons/additional comments: Restrictive controls on e-cigarette advertising could mean that people who would benefit from switching miss seeing the advantages of changing to a safer product. Advertising controls actually serve to keep people using the existing product, smoked tobacco Q5 Do you think it is important for the SFEA to prohibit vaping in designated smokefree areas in the same way as it prohibits smoking in such areas? Yes No √ Reasons/additional comments: There should be much more freedom to vape, as long as vapers act in a considerate way. If people realise that they can vape in certain smokefree areas, it encourages behaviour change. Q6 Do you agree that other controls in the SFEA for smoked tobacco products should apply to ecigarettes? For example: Control Yes No Reasons/ additional comments Requirement for graphic health warnings √ No justification for this, it does not kill or harm like tobacco does Prohibition on displaying products in outlets √ should be encouraged Restriction on use of vending machines √ As above, sales should be made easy Requirement to provide annual returns on data √ Surveillance would be useful, but there must be other mechanisms for this. Requirement to disclose product content and composition √ Industry standards should be required Regulations concerning ingredients (eg, nicotine content and/or flavours) √ As above Requirement for annual testing of product composition √ Excessive Prohibition on free distribution and awards associated with √ Sales should be encouraged Prohibition on discounting √ Sales should be encouraged Prohibition on advertising and sponsorship √ Sales should be encouraged Requirement for standardised packaging √ Excessive and unnecessary Other
Q7 Do you think it is important for legislation to impose some form of excise or excise-equivalent duty on nicotine e-liquid, as it does on tobacco products? Yes No √ Reasons/additional comments: It should be duty free, or with minimal duty, to encourage switching from smoked tobacco Q8 Do you think quality control of and safety standards for ecigarettes are needed? Yes√ No Additional comments: Area of concern Yes No Reasons/additional comments Childproof containers √ Sensible and proportionate industry standards should be required, but not so excessive as to crush the market Safe disposal of ecigarette devices and liquids √ As Ability of device to prevent accidents As above Good manufacturing practice √ As Purity and grade of nicotine √ As above Registration of products √ As above A testing regime to confirm product safety and contents purity √ As above Maximum allowable volume of e-liquid in retail sales √ Should be guided by consumer choice Maximum concentration of nicotine e-liquid √ Should be guided by consumer choice Mixing of e-liquids at (or before) point of sale Other Q9 Are there any other comments you would like to make? If you want to help smokers stop smoking, you should do everything in your power to take a liberal and enabling approach to this, and not treat vaping like smoking. This is not a tobacco product, in any real sense. People who use our stop smoking service and who vape have said they are amazed at how easy e-cigarettes made it for them to stop smoking.
Requirement to provide annual returns on sales data There is no scientific basis justifying this requirement, which would in addition consist an unnecessary and potentially unviable burden for smaller manufacturers. Requirement to disclose product content and composition Fontem agrees that in principle manufacturers and importers of should be subject to disclose product content and composition so as to enable consumers to make informed choices. However, e-cigarette manufacturers should still be able to protect trade secrets e.g. ingredients used as part of the flavour should be collectively categorised as flavourings to maintain confidentiality. Regulations concerning ingredients (eg, nicotine content and/or flavours) Only ingredients of high quality should be used in e-cigarettes and e-liquids. As a minimum all ingredients must be food grade or comply with the standards outlined in the European/ United States Pharmacopeia. E-cigarette flavour variability should be permitted, but no flavour should be marketed or designed to appeal primarily to minors e.g. bubble-gum, milkshake, cotton candy. Ingredients should be permitted for use in e-liquids subject to toxicological risk assessment. Requirement for annual testing of product composition There is no scientific basis justifying this requirement, which would in addition consist an unnecessary and potentially unviable burden for smaller manufacturers. Prohibition on free distribution and awards associated with sales Such a ban will prevent retailers from raising awareness of e-cigarettes and discourage current smokers from trying e-cigarettes, which in turn will lead to a much lower uptake rate among smokers. This effect is undesirable in light of the growing evidence and consensus that are less harmful than smoking.