The New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) collects information on smoking, vaping, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status in Aotearoa. Since 2015 there have been marked reductions in smoking prevalence which have coincided with an increased prevalence of vaping. You can read more about this in our Public Health Communication Centre Briefings on smoking (here) and vaping (here). It is possible that some of the reduction in smoking prevalence during this period resulted from increased vaping.
In this study, we will explore in detail patterns of smoking and vaping and investigate whether changes in vaping prevalence are associated with reduced smoking prevalence by examining the relationships between vaping, smoking, and attempts to quit smoking from NZHS data collected between 2015 to 2022. We will also investigate whether associations vary for priority population groups, including Māori and Pacific peoples. This will provide an evidence-base to inform the development of regulatory approaches to vaping products.
The study is pre-registered on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/d7vjx/.
Funding
University of Otago Research Grant (UORG), 2024.
Project team members