Report Findings

2024 Youth Vaping in New Zealand Report Findings

Overall youth vaping rates in New Zealand have dropped more than 50 per cent over the past three years, a new survey shows.

The 2024 ARFNZ/SPANZ/NZAIMS Vaping in New Zealand Youth Survey reveals that vaping among students in Years 9 to 13 has dropped considerably, with 12 per cent vaping in the last seven days - down from 27 per cent in 2021.

The survey also shows that 3 per cent of Year 7 and 8 students had vaped in the last seven days. This is the first survey to look at the prevalence of vaping across both intermediate and secondary schools, including students as young as 10 years old.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says she is pleased with the overall results as they show that tighter regulations and on-the-ground education are having a positive impact.

"Since 2017 we have been strongly advocating for tighter regulations to prevent the uptake of youth vaping - that’s seven years of battling vaping, but we’ve finally got some wins.

"Though we're seeing lower rates of youth vaping overall, we cannot take our foor off the pedal."

Unfortunately, vaping has increased among older students, Ms Harding says.

In the 2021 survey, 17 per cent of Year 12s and 13 per cent of Year 13s had vaped in the last seven days. This survey reported that 20 per cent of Year 12s and 26 per cent of Year 13s had vaped in the last seven days.

"This tells us that students who were in Year 10 in 2021 have continued to vape, and we are now capturing their habits as Year 13s in this survey," she says.

"These are the students that have fallen through the cracks - and the ones we need to continue to support."

Of those students who had vaped in the last seven days, nearly half of those reported that vaping is harming their health, with 23 per cent of those vaping daily and 42 per cent vaping several times a day, Ms Harding says.

The findings highlight the need for further tightening of the regulations, continued education, and targeted interventions for young people addicted to vaping.

Key findings

• This survey is one of the largest youth vaping surveys conducted in New Zealand, and the first to include students from Year 7 to 13.

• Overall, there has been a substantial reduction in vaping in Years 9-13.

• More students had given up vaping than started vaping in the past year. This was the case in every year except Year 13.

• Vaping has increased among older students with 21.9% of Year 12s and 13s having vaped in the last seven days.

• The most common source of supply was from friends (70%), however almost a quarter (24.6%) still obtained them directly from retailers (vape stores, dairies and service stations).

• Weekly vaping is nearly twice as high among Māori students than NZ European students.

• Of those who reported knowing the nicotine concentration of their vape, the majority were vaping at high (18-24mg) to very high (2450mg) doses.

• Many students reported waking in the middle of the night to vape.

Report Findings