We largely support this Bill. For far too long, vaping products have been on display at shop counters, on streets and even on stand-alone stands in shopping centres, very clearly targeting teenagers and young people. It is very welcome that this Bill closes the loophole that allows the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s, and it regulates the advertising of nicotine products in retail outlets, similar to what is already in place for cigarettes. It is good to see that this legislation is also future-proofed against any new nicotine products that may come on the market. All that is very welcome. On the banning or restricting of vape flavours, I do not believe an outright ban is helpful. This Bill currently allows for only two flavours: unflavoured and tobacco. I note, however, that it states the Minister can add flavours to, or remove them from, the list. I worry that if we are too restrictive on this, two things will happen. The first is that the outlets will simply sell nicotine vape fluid in one packet and the flavour additive in another and people will go off and mix them at home. The second is more concerning, namely, that if flavour additives are banned, we could have a situation where additives are purchased online or on the black market. That raises serious concerns about what is in them, whether they are safe to consume, the levels of various chemicals and so on. We have seen how the system in New Zealand appears to work well. Under this system, there is a fairly broad but approved list of flavours maintained by the ministry of health. It is said that in New Zealand, there are about 57 flavours - I am not suggesting that there be 57 flavours - and they are very basic with simple words describing the product, for example mint, vanilla and so on. That would be the preferred model because it would allow adults to make personal decisions but it would also get rid of the flavour names and the packaging that is seen to target young children. Other measures include regulating the packaging, stopping advertising and taking the products off public display. We have seen that it can work in New Zealand so we should be trying that here. Overall, I welcome this legislation but I would caution the Minister of State against being too restrictive with regard to flavoured vape products.

Sentiment score: 0.12