New Zealand Proposes Vape Products Should Carry Health Warnings in Māori

Source from:  Vapingpost 02/08/2021

Under the new proposals, nicotine-containing vaping products would be required to carry a warning label pointing out their addiction potential in both English and te reo Maori, similar to the ones found on cigarettes.

Local data keep indicating that smoking rates are significantly higher for Maori than for other Kiwis. Naturally, since e-cigarettes are used for smoking cessation and/or as safer alternatives, this equates also to higher vaping rates.

Nabhik Gupta, a spokesperson for local retailer Shosha, said that regardless of the proposal outcome, his company has already begun the planning process of redesigning packaging to include warnings, and their packets will include the following: “He nikotini kei roto i tenei mea, he matu tino whakawara” (this product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance).

“Unlike tobacco products where the packaging is relatively standardised, the box size of e-cigarettes varies substantially between manufacturers. While the redesign and printing of thousands of individual product lines is a significant undertaking and a process which will take months to fully implement, we believe it is an important proactive step for us to take to improve industry standards and help support smokers wanting to transition away from cigarettes,” he said.

Similarly, Store manager of a Shosha branch on New Plymouth’s Devon St West, Prince Mehra, said he believes this is a good initiative anyway, and customers have responded positively. “The people who understand Māori are excited to see it in their language,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of positive feedback.”