The Tobacco Advertising Office approved nearly 90% of tobacco supplier applications

The Cook Islands Department of Health, Te Marae Ora, has approved 37 of 43 applications to sell tobacco in the Cook Islands.

Under the new Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act 2024, successful applicants can start selling tobacco from August 1, 2024.

Health Minister Bob Williams said six of the applications were awaiting approval pending further information.

The bill requires those who want to sell tobacco to apply for a tobacco import and distribution license. The legal age for the sale of tobacco products has been raised from 18 to 21, and smoking is banned in all public places except for a few unenclosed spaces that are exempt from the ban.

The Act also prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution and advertising of imitation tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in the Cook Islands. Since the enactment of the Act, any person who has been resident in the Cook Islands in the past six months is prohibited from importing imitation tobacco products.

The bill was passed by Parliament in May this year and is scheduled to come into effect on July 1.

However, the extension is intended to give businesses more time to sell existing stocks of e-cigarettes or electronic cigarettes.

“From August 1, all approved applications will be issued a tobacco sales license, including businesses that import tobacco products and submit tobacco testing reports,” Williams said.

“This also means that Cook Islanders who have lived in the Cook Islands for the past six months will not be allowed to import, sell or distribute imitation tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.

“Anyone who has lived outside the Cook Islands in the past six months and continues to live outside the Cook Islands may only bring one device and up to 30ml of liquid for personal use.

“They are not allowed to sell or distribute it, it is for their personal use.”

Williams added that from August 1, businesses or suppliers selling e-cigarettes must cease operations, including those without a license to sell tobacco products.

The policies in the Act include:

– The Cook Islands prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution and advertising of imitation tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.

– Prohibits the production of tobacco products. Violations are punishable by a fine of $100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.

– Importers, distributors and sellers of tobacco products must hold a valid license and must comply with all license conditions for distributing or selling the products.

– Prohibits the sale of tobacco products over the Internet – except for business-to-business sales by importers and distributors. Violators are subject to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or in any other case, a fine not exceeding $100,000 and an additional fine of $10,000 for each day of violation.

– Sellers of tobacco products are prohibited from displaying the products for sale, and if an individual violates the regulations, they will pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 or face one month in jail, or in other cases, a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a fine of $1,000 every other day if the violation continues.

– The legal age for selling tobacco is 21.

– The use of tobacco products and imitation tobacco is prohibited in all public places, including bars, restaurants, workplaces, transport and educational institutions, but some non-enclosed spaces are exempt from the ban.