According to the most recent New Zealand Health Survey, the number of New Zealanders aged 15 to 17 who vaped every day quadrupled in three years, from about 2 per cent in 2018-2019 to about 8 per cent in 2021-2022.
NZME this week spoke to teens hooked on vaping about their thoughts.
One as young as 12 says she started vaping at age 6. She says her older brother bought her vapes.
A 15-year-old says they were addicted and liked the flavour.
Others, now in their early 20s, say they started vaping as teens because it was “cool” and because their friends did it. Some were spending between $50 and $60 on disposable vapes. They are calling for vaping to be banned altogether, with one describing it as a waste of money and “a healthy set of lungs”.
Rotorua GP Dr Cate Mills says while banning or restricting the age of sales would benefit youth it was still “guesswork” as to what the exact harm of vaping was.
Mount Maunganui general practitioner Dr Tony Farrell says it is the nicotine that caused addiction and it may be associated with changes in brain development in adolescents, so it is more harmful to young people.
Managing regulations, he says, was a “balancing act to reduce harm, which we [New Zealand] don’t do well with alcohol”.
But in my view, raising the vaping age won’t make a lot of difference.
People aged between 18 and 21 already have many adult privileges such as being able to vote, marry, buy Lotto, and drink booze.
I am 32 and have voted, married, have my own bank account and have been called for jury service. I have bought Lotto and alcohol - but I have never paid for cigarettes or vapes.
People who want to vape are going to do it anyway no matter their age and putting it further out of reach just makes them want it more.
When asked if she was worried about her lungs, the 12-year-old vaper said, “Nah, not really. You only live once and you’re gonna die anyways. Might as well.”
Her friend group nicknamed nicotine “nics” but they did not know how many milligrams were in the shared vape.
There is more merit in ASH’s other proposals, including wanting to reduce the appeal of vaping to children and providing resources to teachers and others working with young people to support vaping prevention.
Educating young people about vaping and its health impacts will have much more powerful impacts than just raising the legal age.
