The sale of e-cigarettes is allowed to continue unrestricted for the next six months in New Zealand, after the announcement of a deferral in the prohibition on disposable e-cigarettes until October.

According to Casey Costello, New Zealand's Deputy Health Minister, one of the goals of delaying the ban is to provide users access to disposable e-cigarettes and enough time to make sure that producers are unable to evade laws.
The New Zealand government has declared that the prohibition of disposable e-cigarettes would be postponed until October, according to press reports dated March 29.
For the next six months, disposable electronic cigarettes can still be marketed without a permit thanks to these postponed laws, which also include child safety features and electronic cigarettes with removable batteries.
The purpose of the extension, according to Deputy Health Minister Casey Costello, is to provide smokers access to disposable e-cigarettes and enough time to make sure that producers are not able to evade laws.
Therefore, our goal is to guarantee that people have access to a sufficient supply of reusable e-cigarettes. We intend to coordinate our efforts to make sure that the regulations are compliant with international standards because other nations are also tackling this issue."
The minister declared that prior to reaching the decision, the government had not been consulted or lobbied by the sector. It has been decided, nonetheless, that "I will engage in dialogue with the e-cigarette industry and other groups to ensure that we develop appropriate regulations."
The New Zealand Health Survey indicates that, among 32,000 teenagers, the daily smoking rate among those between the ages of 15 and 17 climbed from 8.3% in 2022 to 15.4% in 2023. Nevertheless, Costello pointed out that although the number of youths who smoke is rising, e-cigarettes are also a crucial instrument in the fight against smoking among New Zealanders.
"Compared to smoking, using e-cigarettes is much safer, which is a key reason why 230000 people have quit smoking in the past three years."
In an effort to give the people a voice, the government of New Zealand and Costello are adamant about their choice to delay laws, and they have declared that they would forward proposed legislation changes to a special committee.
"As the government, we clearly hope to continue reducing smoking, preventing young people from smoking and using e-cigarettes, which is why we have made these decisions."