Our Role
Vaping has upended smoking here in New Zealand across all ethnicities and age groups. To build our domestic success industry into a global one, we are being formed to take the industry to the next level. There are around 380,000 kiwis who smoke daily with another one billion smokers globally, so the Kiwi vaping could be a good for global health and a smart high-tech export industry for our country. It is for these reasons that those who import smoking products and pharmaceutical nicotine replacement therapies cannot join VIANZ.
VIANZ is being formed as not for profit industry-good body to represent the interests of manufacturers/exporters, importers and retailers.
We are not advocates for vapers but for the rights of New Zealand companies to make, import and sell vaping products domestically and internationally. Products used daily by over a quarter of million Kiwis and by another 41 million people worldwide.
VIANZ is led by an Executive Director with strong policy experience who, in turn, will be supported by member expertise on science and manufacturing, commerce and trade. Where needed external advice and expertise will also be sought.
Our focus is to support the industry’s growth using evidence while creating a collaborative environment with policymakers, public health experts and of course, our consumers. We have a genuine desire to showcase the creative talents of those helping to slash smoking rates here and overseas.
The overwhelming consensus of scientific evidence is that vaping is inherently safer than smoking and with an estimated one billion smokers worldwide, New Zealand is well positioned as a global leader in tobacco harm reduction that affirms our wish to become trusted and credible industry body through professionalism, expertise and ethics.