Vaping has slowed progress in cutting teen smoking in NZ – new study

Vaping Has Slowed Progress in Reducing Teen Smoking in New Zealand

More teenagers in New Zealand are now smoking regularly than if pre-vaping trends had continued, which has increased health disparities particularly for Māori and Pacific youth.

Adult Smoking Trends in Aotearoa

Smoking rates among adults have dropped significantly over recent decades, from 18% in 2011/12 to 8% in 2023/24. Despite this decline, Māori and Pacific peoples continue to face much higher smoking rates and, as a result, suffer more tobacco-related illnesses and premature deaths compared to other ethnic groups.

Importance of Reducing Teen Smoking

Since tobacco addiction often starts during adolescence, focusing on lowering smoking rates among teenagers is crucial to reducing overall health inequities caused by smoking.

Impact of Vaping on Youth Smoking

Earlier studies suggested vaping might be helping to reduce youth smoking rates by replacing cigarettes. However, recent research shows the opposite:

Our findings indicate that the decline in adolescent smoking rates actually slowed following the introduction of vaping in New Zealand around 2010.

Differences Among Ethnic Groups

Previous research did not explore if the slowdown in reducing teen smoking affected all ethnic groups equally. This is important because vaping and smoking patterns vary among Māori, Pacific, European, and Asian communities. Vaping might be reducing smoking for some groups but not for others, impacting the overall trends differently.

Understanding these differences is key to addressing smoking and vaping impacts across diverse populations.

Author's summary: The rise of adolescent vaping in New Zealand has slowed progress in cutting teen smoking rates, worsening health inequalities, especially for Māori and Pacific youths.

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The Conversation The Conversation — 2025-11-06

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