Māori public health body Hāpai Te Hauora has voiced support for vaping industry calls for dairies to switch from selling cigarettes to vaping devices to reduce armed robberies.
More than 1,200 cash and cigarette robberies are committed against dairies each year.
The government has been looking at deterrence models including new fog cannon technology but Hāpai Te Hauora says the real solution may be for dairies to replace tobacco with harm minimisation products.
5,000 New Zealanders a year die from smoking-related illnesses.