Restricting E‐Cigarette Flavour Names to Reduce Youth Appeal: An Analysis of N ew Z ealand's 2024 Regulations

ABSTRACT Issue Addressed Appealing e‐cigarette flavours have been an important factor in experimentation and uptake among young people. In an effort to curb high rates of youth vaping, in 2024, the New Zealand Government introduced regulations to restrict e‐cigarette flavours that may appeal to young people. The regulations require that e‐cigarette products are described using up to two flavour names from a specified list. This research analyses whether online retailers comply with the regulations and provides insights into popular flavours. Methods Using content analysis methods, we identified popular online retailers in New Zealand. We extracted flavour names from e‐cigarette product listings on retailer websites to analyse compliance and categorised products to explore popular flavour profiles. Results Of the 22 retailers included in the sample, only 4 (18.0%) fully complied with the restrictions. Of the 6939 total e‐cigarette products (e‐liquids, pods and disposables), 25.9% ( n = 1794) did not comply with the regulations. Most flavours in the sample were fruity or sweet (78.9%). Conclusion New Zealand retailers frequently breach the flavour regulations. Despite many permitted options, retailers often attempt workarounds to bypass regulations, including listing products under previous names or descriptors that are not permitted, such as ‘ice’ or ‘cola’. Sweet and fruit flavours dominate the online market. So What? E‐cigarette flavour restrictions should include sweet and fruit flavours to reduce appeal to youth and be supported by rigorous enforcement to prevent common retail workarounds.