Napier Year 13 student Bella Spiers is presenting a petition to Parliament on health concerns related to vaping. Photo / Warren Buckland
Napier Year 13 student Bella Spiers is presenting a petition to Parliament on health concerns related to vaping. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Napier Year 13 student is hoping to present a petition to the Government in a bid to stop e-cigarette companies targeting teenagers through advertising on social media.
If successful, Bella Spiers would see the Government amend the 1989 Tobacco Advertising Act and the 2011 Smoke-free Environments Act to includee-cigarettes, otherwise known as vaping.
"I believe that many people often turn to vaping as a preferable, less toxic alternative to smoking but there may in fact be still an awful lot of harm caused by the products in vaping," Spiers said.
Also on the Napier City Youth Council and the Hawke's Bay Environmental Council, the 17-year-old said people focus too much on the fact vaping doesn't contain nicotine and forget that it has many chemicals that she says are just as detrimental to a person's health and wellbeing.
The teenager has been in conversations with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board and Chief Medical Officer from Southern District Health Board, Nigel Millar, who said vaping can cause the diminution of blood flow to oral tissues with consequent potential for serious gum disease.
Spiers decided to focus on the topic after a recent visit to Auckland, finding herself walking through endless clouds of smoke on Queen St.
"I really didn't want that to happen in Napier and I've been to a lot of parties where people have been vaping. I just think a lot of people are oblivious to the harm that they can do.
"It's such a new fad among people as well as being a new technology, people don't know what the long-term consequences are."
Spiers conducted a survey within her school of about 1200 students. About 500 of them took part in the study with 60 per cent of participants saying they vaped.
"The participants wrote that they vape because it's fun and they do it because their friends do it.
"A few of my friends have joked with me about my campaign because vaping has no nicotine and they think just because it doesn't have nicotine they think there's nothing bad about it.
Sixty per cent of the 500 Napier students who took part in Bella Speirs' study said they vaped. Photo / Warren Buckland
"I wouldn't want shops to be dedicated to vaping in terms of advertising. I wouldn't want anything to make it more appealing to youth and a lot of them use social media where a majority of influence comes from."
The petition can be found at https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_87976/petition-of-isabella-spiers-vaping-advertisement-policy.
