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The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ is welcoming
findings from the latest youth smoking and vaping survey
which shows a continual decline in smoking rates.
“The
findings from the ASH Year 10 survey are very encouraging.
Smoking rates in this age group continue to fall and regular
vaping rates have, for the first time, slightly decreased.
The reversal in the youth vaping trend has to be attributed
to the sustained mahi of many groups and individuals
committed to vaping education and harm reduction, such as
the Life Education Trust, the Foundation and specialist
researchers and health professionals,” says Foundation Chief
Executive Letitia Harding.
The survey shows that daily
smoking is now at 1.1% for the students surveyed however
daily vaping rates remain high with 1 in 10 Year 10 students
still vaping. Regular vaping rates (which includes daily,
weekly or monthly vaping) has seen a small decrease from
20.2% last year to 18.2% in 2022.
“While the overall
picture is improving, there are still areas of concern.
Daily vaping continues to increase for Māori students, with
the rates for Māori girls up from 21.3% to 25.2% this year.
It is also concerning to see a growth in numbers of students
who have never smoked, taking up vaping and numbers of
students both smoking and vaping,” says Ms
Harding.
These findings show that continued and
targeted efforts are needed to turn the tide on youth vaping
says Ms Harding. “We can’t take our foot off the brakes
now. The success of smokefree initiatives for young people
can be seen in the dramatic decline in youth smoking rates
over the last 20 years. We need to ensure that vape-free
initiatives are also well resourced and supported to protect
the health of our rangatahi.”
In addition to vaping
harm education, the Foundation would also like to see
tightening of vaping regulations to ensure the wellbeing of
young people. “We would like a cap on the number of
Specialist Vape Retailers in New Zealand, as we already have
1070 of these stores throughout our communities. Also, we
urgently want to see the maximum level of nicotine allowed
in vapes reduced from 50mg/ml to 20mg/ml in line with EU
levels,” Ms Harding
says.
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