H2026078457 response.pdf

133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
25 February 2026

Jay Citizen

By email:  [FYI request #33657 email]
Ref:
H2026078457

Tēnā koe Jay

Response to your request for official information

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of
Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) on 8 February 2026 for information regarding Cosmic
Vape store in Hornby Mall, Christchurch. You requested:

1. Al  information held concerning the licence granted to Cosmic Hornby, including the
application for a licence, any decision-making documentation, and any conditions imposed
on that licence.

2. For each year Cosmic Hornby has been operating, provide a breakdown of sales
information for that particular store. Please provide the total sales figure of vaping
products sold in the period, compared against the amount of non-vaping product sales.
(This information is collected in annual returns provided to the Ministry of Health, and the
Ministry is required to publish that information, but the published data isn’t
comprehensive)

In relation to the first part of your request, Section 20P(1) of the Smokefree Environments and
Regulated Products Act 1990 (the Act) states:

A person who sells vaping products from retail premises may apply to the Director-
General for approval to be a specialist vape retailer in relation to specified retail premises,
and, if applicable, specified Internet sites.

There is information on the Ministry website about the Specialist Vape Retailer (SVR)
application process at the following webpage: www.health.govt.nz/regulation-legislation/vaping-
herbal-smoking-and-smokeless-tobacco/selling-vaping-or-other-notifiable-products/application-
process-to-become-a-specialist-vape-retailer.

Cosmic Corner Limited have submitted an Approved Vaping Premises (AVP) application for
Cosmic Hornby to the Director-General of Health on 20 October 2021. Their AVP application
was approved on 5 November 2021 with a unique code AVP-348. The relevant documents are
listed in the appendices and enclosed in this response.

A publicly available list of AVPs can be accessed via the Ministry’s Specialist Vape Retailers
search tool here: vaping.harp.health.nz/search/.

In relation to the second part of your request, section 100(2) of the Act states:

Each year a retailer of regulated products must, in accordance with regulations, -
(a)  prepare a return showing sales-related information required by regulations in
respect of regulated products or class of regulated products sold by the retailer,
and
(b)  file the return with the Director-General no later than 31 January.

Cosmic Corner Limited has filed an annual return for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 year in relation
to Cosmic Hornby. The relevant documents are listed in the appendices and enclosed in this
response. For clarity, the total vaping product sales for each year are:
  •  2022: $1,392,518.00
•  2023: $1,323,471.00
•  2024: $1,189,644.21

Please note that while information about non-vaping products sales is collated by the Ministry
under the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990, in order to ensure the
70% vaping sales threshold is met by the respective store, these items are classed as
non-notifiable products. As such, your request for information related to “the amount of non-
vaping product sales” is withheld under the following sections of the Act:
  •  9(2)(b)(i), to protect information where the making available of the information would be
likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or
who is the subject of the information; and,
•  9(2)(ba)(i), to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which
any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any
enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the
supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public
interest that such information should continue to be supplied.

Cosmic Corner Limited is yet to submit the 2025 annual return for Cosmic Hornby. For the 2025
annual return, due to the technical issues affecting the ability to complete annual returns, the
annual returns platform is open until 31 March 2026.

Information is located on the Ministry’s website about annual returns at the following webpage:
www.health.govt.nz/regulation-legislation/vaping-herbal-smoking-and-smokeless-
tobacco/requirements/complete-a-notifiable-product-annual-return.

The Ministry has identified 19 documents, including photographs, within scope of your request.
Al  documents are itemised in the appendices, with copies of the documents enclosed. Please
note that Appendix 1 lists documents related to part 1 of your request, and Appendix 2 lists the
documents related to part 2 of your request.

Where information is withheld under section 9 of the Act, I have considered the countervailing
public interest in release in making this decision and consider that it does not outweigh the need
to withhold at this time.

I trust this information fulfils your request. If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with
us, including this decision, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team on:
[email address].

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Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.

Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at: www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-official-
information-act-requests.

Nāku noa, nā

Jane Chambers
Group Manager, Public Health Policy and Regulation
Public Health Agency | Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui

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Appendix 1: List of documents for release as related to part 1 of your request

#
Date
Document details
Decision on release
1
October to
AVP application submission date  Some information withheld
November 2021
under section 9(2)(a) of the
2
Application fee - order summary  Act, to protect the privacy of
natural persons
3
Application fee - item
Released in full
4
AVP application
Some information withheld
under section 9(2)(a) of the
5
AVP assessment - application
Act
Details
6
AVP assessment - assessment
details
7
AVP assessment - approval
details
8
AVP Acceptance and approval
Released in full
letter
9
ODR-754_Invoice
10-13
Pictures of the store
Some information withheld
under section 9(2)(a) of the
14
Email correspondence: AVPs
Act and some information
within Malls
deemed out of scope of your
request
15
June 2024
SVR-141 Letter
Some information withheld
under section 9(2)(a) of the
Act

16
Email correspondence: SVR-141  Some information withheld
letter re business ownership of
under section 9(2)(a) of the
AVPs/AISs
Act and some information
deemed out of scope of your
request

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Appendix 2: List of documents for release as related to part 2 of your request

#
Date
Document details
Decision on release
16
2022
Annual sales revenue
Released in full
17
2023
18
2024

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