Vaping among adolescents and young people increased markedly over the last 6-7 years with around one in ten 14-15 year olds and over one in five 18-24 year olds vaping daily by 2022. There are much higher rates among Māori adolescents with over one in five 14-15 year olds vaping daily in 2022. The findings are reported in a recently published Public Health Communication Centre briefing which collated the available information on vaping among young people in Aotearoa. Lead author Richard Edwards noted that much less is known about the types of vaping devices, flavours and strengths of nicotine that young people are using and about where they are obtaining their vapes. He suggests systems for monitoring vaping and other substance use among young people urgently need improving to help determine what public health responses are required and to evaluate their impact.
The blog is available here.