Influenced by the U.S., New Zealand's Associate Health Minister Proposes Banning Fruit-Flavored E-Ci

According to VapingPost, New Zealand's Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa recently stated, "The bill I am about to submit to Parliament will ban most e-cigarette flavors—currently, I propose to allow three flavors to be sold on the market: tobacco, menthol, and mint."

Jenny Salesa mentioned that this measure will be part of e-cigarette legislation that will soon be submitted to Parliament.

However, contrary to the views of public health experts, Ben Pryor, owner of e-cigarette brands Alt New Zealand and Vapo, stated: "Restricting e-cigarette flavors will only make it harder for those who want to quit smoking and could have deadly consequences. This will be a very poor 'welfare' outcome for this government."

Pryor added that this move seems to be influenced by the recent lung disease incidents in the U.S.

"Banning most vaping e-cigarette flavors is as nonsensical as banning flavors of low-calorie drinks and foods; it helps no one. The news from our Associate Health Minister that only three e-cigarette flavors may be allowed is an unconscious reaction to media reports that are completely unrelated to the U.S. These lung disease cases are mostly linked to illegal and poor-quality counterfeit e-liquids, yet the poor smokers in New Zealand who hope to quit may be hit hard."

Flavor bans could reverse the trend of declining smoking rates

He also expressed concern that if flavored e-cigarettes are banned, New Zealand's currently record-low smoking rates will begin to reverse.

"One important reason for the decline in our smoking rates is that thousands of New Zealanders are now smoking traditional cigarettes less and becoming healthier as a result."

"One key reason helping to reduce New Zealand's smoking rates is that current e-cigarettes are a very effective tool. Removing most flavors simply means more people will turn to traditional cigarettes, ultimately affecting the health and lives of more people," he added.