Teen vaping in New Zealand has dropped by half since peaking in 2021.
As Newstalk ZB reported, the Action on Smoking and Health survey of 30,000-plus 10th-grade students found that monthly vaping among teens stood at 20.2% by 2021.
Those figures have since fallen by 50%. Everyday use now sits at 7.1% after peaking at 10.1% in 2022.
Researchers credit changing attitudes and a 2020 law that made it illegal to sell vapes to minors. Less than 33% of students polled reported trying a vape at some point.
The drop is good news given vaping's health and environmental toll. Nicotine addiction during adolescence can harm brain development and create lifelong dependency.
Disposable vapes contain lithium batteries that can ignite when tossed in with regular trash, and their plastic bodies add to our planet's mounting e-waste problem. Most throwaway devices wind up in landfills rather than proper recycling facilities.
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For Māori youth, progress has been uneven. While rates fell over 2025, everyday vaping among Māori teens remained at 16.5%.
"Vaping is not as cool as it used to be," said Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole, chairperson of Action on Smoking and Health.
Beaglehole noted that cigarette use among young New Zealanders has nearly vanished, with roughly 1% smoking every day.
"This is a major global success which we should be celebrating ... we are leading the way," he said. "Youth smoking has almost disappeared, and vaping continues to fall."
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Definitely 👍 Associate Professor Andrew Waa of Otago University called for a wider view.
"Rather than talking about a smokefree future, we need to start thinking about a nicotine-free future for our young people," he said.
Waa said vapes are still too easy for young Māori and Pacific Islanders to obtain, calling the gap "an entirely preventable inequity."
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