100 signatures reached
To: The government, and Health Minister Shane Reti
Rise Above The Cloud: Change Vape Packaging to Display Health Warnings
Vaping is an increasing issue in our youth that is causing long term addictions and health problems. According to the Ministry of Health, “In 2021/22, 1 in 12 people aged 15 or older (8.3%) were daily vapers (346,000 people).”(1) If you are a parent, there is a real chance that your teen is addicted to vaping or vapes on a regular basis. The vape culture amongst youth is fueled by the appealing look, colours, and flavours of vapes. In addition to that, vaping has become an entrance to nicotine smoking and addiction, capturing youth who had never previously smoked.
As high school students, we have seen the consequences of vaping first-hand in modern society. We have grown up without vapes, and now they seem to be a big trend among youth all over New Zealand. We want to protect those who are vulnerable and could be seriously affected by vaping, which is why we have decided to do a student-led petition.
As high school students, we have seen the consequences of vaping first-hand in modern society. We have grown up without vapes, and now they seem to be a big trend among youth all over New Zealand. We want to protect those who are vulnerable and could be seriously affected by vaping, which is why we have decided to do a student-led petition.
We are calling on Health Minister Shane Reti to take action to change the strong vape culture here in New Zealand. Specifically, changing the packaging of vapes to something similar to current day cigarette packaging. We suggest the following adjustments:
Standardising Packaging
Requiring all vape packaging to follow a basic formatting in order to appear less appealing and attractive. This would mean removing the use of bright colours, removing distinctive logos and icons, using plain fonts, and generally normalising packaging so that it has no promotional content.
Graphic Images of Health Impact
All packaging should include images illustrating the potential health risks associated with vaping. Risks could include: inhaling airborne metals from vape coils, hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals, drinking/injecting vape fluid can kill you. This would likely be more eye-catching and leave a lasting impression on buyers, and would show current vapers the potential consequences of their actions.
Obvious Health Warnings
Packaging should include clear health warnings, such as the following:
- ‘There is conclusive evidence that in addition to nicotine, most e-cigarette products contain and emit numerous potentially toxic substances.’(2)
- ‘There is conclusive evidence that intentionally or unintentionally drinking or injecting e-liquids can be fatal.’(2)
- ‘There is substantial evidence that e-cigarette aerosol contains metals. The origin of the metals could be the metallic coil used to heat the e-liquid, other parts of the e-cigarette device, or e-liquids. Product characteristics and use patterns may contribute to differences in the actual metals and metal concentrations measured in e-cigarette aerosol.’(2)
Why is this important?
Vaping is an issue in New Zealand that affects many people’s health habits and can be easily picked up at a young age. There is a particular concern around vaping and the ways it impacts youth. Vaping in schools is a concerning issue in New Zealand, with school kids obtaining vapes and vaping during school hours.
Our petition aims to reduce the amount of vape sales as well as make it common knowledge that vaping is bad for your health. By changing the packaging to be the same as cigarette packaging, we are hoping that this will help hinder the promotion of vapes and inform consumers about the serious health risks they are taking when they are using one.
We hope that the impact of our petition helps to inform people that vapes are dangerous to health. We think that vaping is an issue among a large amount of the NZ population and one that impacts us both socially and in a health context.
Australia has made significant, admirable crack-downs when it comes to vaping. For packaging, they require that it remains “plain”. By this, they mean “be packaged in a certain colour, display brand names in certain ways, display the required text and graphic health warnings, not display logos, brand images or promotional text.” (3) By doing this they have minimised the appeal of purchasing the products.
Corporate interests will undoubtedly affect our ability to change vape packaging, as vape companies prioritise profitability and marketability over public health concerns. Improved packaging will not be seen as an improvement to vape companies as health warnings, no logos, and no bright colours will impact their sales and make them take a turn for the worse, which ultimately means less profit for them. They want their packaging to be attractive in order to keep addicts buying their products.
Vapes and vape packaging are brightly or pastel coloured, often with cartoon characters or images displayed. This packaging is part of the reason that makes vaping so attractive and popular among youth. Marketing strategies implemented by vape companies include the packaging targeting youth. According to News Medical, “Packaging holds a significant position in promoting vaping products, including devices, pods, and e-liquids. Candy- or fruit-flavoured vaping products sold in colourful packaging are known to attract the youth attention more than adult smokers. Moreover, packaging of such products is often designed to resemble food or drink products that are mostly marketed to the youth” (4).
2. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/24952/012318ecigaretteConclusionsbyEvidence.pdf
3. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/smoking-vaping-and-tobacco/tobacco-control/plain-packaging
4. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Colorful-Packaging-Hidden-Dangers-The-Push-to-Regulate-Vape-Aesthetics.aspx
3. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/smoking-vaping-and-tobacco/tobacco-control/plain-packaging
4. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Colorful-Packaging-Hidden-Dangers-The-Push-to-Regulate-Vape-Aesthetics.aspx
How it will be delivered
We plan to communicate with our school community in order to receive signatures, while also reaching out to our broader community in Palmerston North.