Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner has announced the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquid will be made legal, with appropriate controls.

She says scientific evidence regarding the safety of e-cigarettes is still developing, but there is a general consensus that ‘vaping' is much less harmful than smoking.

'The government is taking a cautious approach by aligning the regulations around vaping with those for cigarettes. This ensures cigarette smokers have access to a lower-risk alternative while we continue to discourage people from smoking or vaping in the first place.”

New rules for all e-cigarettes, whether or not they contain nicotine, include:

• Restricting sales to those 18 years and over
• Prohibiting vaping in indoor workplaces and other areas where smoking is banned under the Smoke-free Environments Act
• Restricting advertising to limit the attraction of e-cigarettes to non-smokers, especially children and young people.

'This is an opportunity to see if restricted access to e-cigarettes and e-liquid can help lower our smoking rates, reduce harm and save lives,” says Nicky.

'The government is strongly committed to achieving our goal of a smoke-free New Zealand by 2025.”

All vaping products will need to meet quality and safety standards. The Ministry of Health will set up a technical advisory group to help define these standards.

A regulatory regime will also be established so the ministry can consider whether other emerging tobacco and nicotine-delivery products should be regulated as consumer products in future.

'Public consultation shows a strong appetite for change so the government is looking to introduce an amendment to the Smoke-free Environments Act this year. The changes will likely come into force later in 2018.”

Rob Haskett, who owns Naked Vapour in Papamoa with wife Lia, says e-cigarettes are legal at the moment, so long as they don't contain nicotine and aren't sold to those under 18.

'So we've been waiting for this change for a very long time,” says Rob.

He says the liquid in the e-cigarettes is made up of three to four main components – propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and usually a flavouring component.

At the moment, the law doesn't allow them to be sold as a product that can help quit smoking.

'We're not allowed to sell them as quit smoking device, because then we would be claiming to cure a smoker of their disease. But they are an alternative to smoking cigarettes, and most of our clients are current or former smokers.”

As a former smoker, Rob says the e-cigarettes worked perfectly for him, and his success quitting with the devices was part of the motivation behind setting up Naked Vapour.

'It worked instantly for me. I was just looking to use them to reduce how much tobacco I was smoking. But I tried my first device and thought, ‘holy hell' I can actually switch completely with these.”

E-cigarette users also tend to smell better than their tobacco smoking counterparts – in fact, due to flavours like caramel and chocolate, Rob says they sometimes get complimented on how good they smell.

'They're much cleaner because nothing is being burnt.”