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Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990

Restrictions on advertising, promotion, sale, and distribution of regulated products - Restrictions on advertising of regulated products and related communications

23: Publishing regulated product advertisement prohibited

You could also call this:

"No advertising for some products allowed"

You cannot publish an advertisement for a regulated product in New Zealand unless you are allowed to do so under this law or under subpart 2. You are also not allowed to arrange for someone else to publish it for you. A regulated product advertisement can be a notice, sign, or message that gives information about a product's health or age warnings.

If you display a notice or sign at your place of business that gives this kind of information, it will be treated as a regulated product advertisement. This is also true for Internet-sales messages that give this kind of information. You can find more information about what is considered a regulated product advertisement in section 2(1).

If you break this rule without a good reason, you can get in trouble and have to pay a fine. The amount of the fine depends on who you are and what kind of product the advertisement was for. For example, if you are a manufacturer or importer, you could have to pay up to $600,000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS428436.

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22: Purposes of this Part, or

"What this part of the law is about: rules for selling certain products"

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24: Specified publications exempt from advertising prohibition, or

"Some publications and situations are allowed to advertise certain products even if there are rules against it"

Part 2Restrictions on advertising, promotion, sale, and distribution of regulated products
Restrictions on advertising of regulated products and related communications

23Publishing regulated product advertisement prohibited

  1. A person must not publish a regulated product advertisement in New Zealand, or arrange for another person to publish it in New Zealand, unless the person is authorised by or under this subpart or subpart 2.

  2. A notice or sign must be treated as a regulated product advertisement if the notice or sign—

  3. communicates information that is or includes product health information or warnings, product purchase age information or warnings, or both; and
    1. is displayed inside or at the outside of the place of business of a person who offers the products for sale (whether by retail or wholesale); and
      1. is not required or permitted by this Act or regulations.

        1. A message must be treated as a regulated product advertisement if the message—

        2. communicates information that is or includes product health information or warnings, product purchase age information or warnings, or both; and
          1. is an Internet-sales message; and
            1. is not required or permitted by this Act or regulations.

              1. Subsections (2) and (3) do not limit the generality of subsection (1) or of the definition of regulated product advertisement in section 2(1).

              2. A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable,—

              3. in the case of a manufacturer, an importer, or a distributor,—
                1. to a fine not exceeding $600,000; but
                  1. if the contravention relates to a vaping product or smokeless tobacco product, to a fine not exceeding $200,000; and
                  2. in the case of a large retailer,—
                    1. to a fine not exceeding $200,000; but
                      1. if the contravention relates to a vaping product or smokeless tobacco product, to a fine not exceeding $70,000; and
                      2. in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

                        Notes
                        • Section 23: inserted, on , by section 27 of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 62).
                        • Section 23(5)(c): replaced, on , by section 10 of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act (No 2) 2024 (2024 No 53).