Despite being lauded as a world leader in tobacco harm reduction and approaching “smoke-free” status, New Zealand is banning disposable vapes.

Earlier in August, the World Vapers’ Alliance warned that the ban, advanced in the name of reducing youth vaping, “could undermine the progress made.”

The policy, which the government first announced in March and plans to have in place by the end of the year, applies to the manufacture, import and sale of all non-rechargeable devices and non-refillable pods and cartridges.

New Zealand’s embrace of vapes has been key to the rapid reduction of its smoking rate to 6.8 percent by 2023—close to the “smoke-free” threshold of below 5 percent. But many of the people who switched from cigarettes have been using devices that will now be banned.

To tobacco harm reduction advocates, it all feels like one step forward, one step back. They recently applauded the government for a move to slash taxes on heated tobacco products—increasing the prospect of those safer substitutes for cigarettes adding to the smoking-cessation momentum generated by vapes.

Read the full text here