Call for tighter vaping control

More needs to be some to reduce young people’s access to vapes, according to the Paediatric Society of New Zealand.

Paediatrician Dr Colette Muir says the society is extremely worried by the level of youth vaping in New Zealand.

An ASH Year 10 Snapshot survey showed that 10 per cent of Year 10’s are vaping daily.

“While the health policy intention regarding vaping was to reduce smoking, it is now clear that vaping is causing significant harm to Aotearoa’s tamariki and rangitahi,” Dr Muir says. “More needs to be done to prevent youth who do not smoke from taking up vaping in the first place.

“The data shows the importance of trying to find a better balance between supporting people who smoke to move to less harmful options, while protecting young people who have never smoked from taking up vaping.”

Dr Muir says there is particular concern about the impacts of vaping, and its symptoms such as nicotine withdrawal, on learning and behaviour.

“An alarming number of high school students are trying vaping because their friends do it and they’ve heard it’s safe and are curious. But lungs are designed to breathe air, not smoke or vape. There is no safety data for e-cigarettes and there is evidence of harm.”