NZ’s ‘hybrid’ vape shops need addressing

“There are far too many convenience stores now also operating as licenced ‘Specialist Vape Retailers’. It makes a mockery of New Zealand’s vaping laws and so we’re pleased the Government is going to tidy up this unintended consequence,” says Nancy Loucas, co-founder of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA). Her comments follow Parliament’s first reading of […]

NZ govt’s smokefree proposals must be enforced, say vapers

The Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA ) is encouraging Kiwis to make a submission on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill by 24 August. They say getting tough on tobacco is well overdue. Now with Parliament’s health select committee, the bill limits the number of retailers able to sell smoked tobacco […]

Stuck in a Time Warp

Its been a very strange year indeed…if 2020 could just fade into the sunset like an old cowboy on his trusted horse, that would be great…sigh When AVCA was denied entry to a Public Health Seminar series this past February because of our alleged “tobacco industry connection”, we all first laughed a bit at the […]

Press Release – All Workplace Vaping Stops Today, But Don’t Shun Vapers

Wednesday, 11 November 2020, 9:15 am From today – 11 November – the existing prohibition on smoking inside workplaces will be extended to include vaping, but Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) says there are other areas vapers need to respect as well. Vape-free areas include buses, trains, taxis and rideshare services, passenger queuing areas and […]

Press Release – MOH has completely missed opportunity this Stoptober

 Media release Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) Sunday, 11 October 2020 Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) says the Ministry of Health has missed an excellent opportunity to fully support Kiwi smokers by not getting in behind Stoptober 2020. Created by Public Health England and launched in 2012, Stoptober has become a popular initiative in many […]

Smoke Free Legislation coming into force from 11 November 2020

The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 comes into force on 11 November 2020 (except for section 31 which comes into force on 28 November 2021).  The new law will come into force from 11 November and its provisions in the Amendment Act will be phased in. From 11 November 2020, vaping is prohibited: inside workplaces […]

AVCA Supplementary Submission: Parliamentary Petition on Flavours

Here is the full text of the supplemental submission that AVCA has made to the Health Select Committee regarding Parliamentary Petition that was presented in August 2020. The petition itself can be found here. It was submitted by David Seymour, ACT *after* Parliament had passed the SmokeFree Legislation Amendment. Nancy was contacted by the Health Select […]

In Seeking the Truth, you have to get ALL sides of the story – The Media, Part III

Shock Jocks and The Truth The testimonials and real life experiences of the thousands of smokers who have used e-cigarettes to transition away from combustion is a powerful narrative.  A narrative that has never been articulated in the media. The smoking rate in Aotearoa/New Zealand has dropped dramatically in the past five years, in no […]