The Public Health Communication Centre is calling for stronger steps to protect young people from vaping.
The independent organisation hosted by the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago is calling for limits on vape store numbers and restrictions on proximity and density.
In a letter to the New Zealand Medical Journal it expressed concern that as of July 22, 1349 specialist vape store applications have been approved, with the vast majority of them being physical retail outlets.
It noted some vaping outlets were situated near schools and communities around the country were concerned about a rising concentration of vape stores in central business districts.
A Vaping Industry Association of NZ spokesperson said it acknowledged and supported the need for accessibility to vaping products to be carefully controlled.
It expressed concern over the lack of enforcement by authorities who appeared to have "bulk issued" licences and were allowing a "store-within-a-store" model to proliferate.
