The council is about to submit to Parliament’s Health Select Committee on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill and, following a plea by Cancer Society health promotion adviser Linda Buxton, its stance on vaping will be strengthened.
Ms Buxton addressed the council during the public forum before its meeting on Tuesday, and asked it to strengthen its submission by taking a firmer stance on vaping.
The habit was being taken up by youth who had never smoked, and three more "flashy" vape stores had popped up in the city since she addressed the council in July, Ms Buxton said.
"The numbers are clearly showing we have a real issue with vaping in this country."
Vape products were a viable way to help stop people from smoking, but the products were being marketed towards youth that had never smoked before, she said.
"There is an opportunity in your submission to let government know there is an issue with vaping."
The current council submission asks for the number of vaping retailers to be limited, as well as a requirement for a vaping retailer to prove it was a specialist store, and 60%-70% of its business was selling vaping products.
The DCC submission already supported restricting the number of tobacco retailers in Dunedin, which was a positive move towards stopping youth from taking up smoking and keeping those who had quit smokefree, Ms Buxton said.
Cr Christine Garey said it was extraordinary that while the country was attempting to address smoking, vaping was becoming another issue.
"There is every indication that if we do nothing we’re going to have other problems ... I’m astonished to see all the glossy vaping shops popping up all over the place."
Cr David Benson-Pope said the issue would not go away if it did not get dealt with swiftly.
"I think the speculation that there is another health disaster coming is not just speculation," he said.
The council will now send an amended submission to the select committee.
A report on the Bill is due early December.
