Councils should be given powers to regulate vape stores – Editorial
A push to give local councils powers to regulate vape stores makes sense.
The move would give community leaders oversight of where stores are located and how the rules that govern them are enforced in their cities and districts.
Whanganui District Council has joined seven other councils in supporting a Wairoa district campaign for local authorities to have regulatory and enforcement control over vape retailers.
The campaign says communities are concerned about youth vaping, retail saturation in vulnerable communities and inconsistent compliance monitoring and enforcement.
The Whanganui Chronicle reports that a remit will be presented at Local Government New Zealand’s July 31 annual meeting.
If passed, the organisation will advocate for legislative change, asking the Government to allow councils to control the location, density, operation, advertising, product visibility and compliance standards of vape stores in their districts.
The Ministry of Health regulates vaping under legislation.
Vaping is never far from controversy.
It is seen as less harmful than smoking and a way to help cigarette smokers quit.
However, it is still seen by some as a health risk and addictive. Some people find it gross.
The NZ Herald reported in March that research found vaping probably caused lung and oral cancer.
There are also concerns over children vaping and the proximity of specialist vape retailers to schools.
The local government remit says 29% of vape retailers operate within 400m of schools and about 71% are within 800m. It also says that more than 509,000 people vape in New Zealand.
Governments have introduced vaping controls over the past several years.
These include a 2023 ban on new specialist vape retailers operating within 300m of schools. Disposable vapes were also banned.
Gisborne is one district grappling with the issue. About a third of vape stores subject to compliance checks in the Tairāwhiti town last year were found to have broken the rules.
One health provider in the region has observed addicts as young as 8.
An Action for Smokefree 2025 survey found nearly twice as many Year 10 students in the Gisborne district regularly vaped compared with the rest of the country.
Other communities are struggling with the problem. Schools are also dealing with students vaping and stores operating nearby.
Vaping is not going to go away.
The challenge, however, is to stop as many non-smokers and children from taking up the habit as possible.
Vaping is a national problem that needs national rules, and some national oversight – but local solutions.
That’s why councils and local leaders need to be involved and be given the right powers.
They know their communities and what is best for them and are in a strong position to regulate the industry in a way that suits their people, like they can with alcohol.