Thanks to vaping, smoking rates among New Zealand youth are dropping steadily

A recent study tends towards the conclusion that young smokers have never been so few and far between in New Zealand according to the ministry for health. Just a few months ago, the Minister had stated that the increase in vaping in teen populations was an alarming trend. She admitted, however, that the habit was much less toxic than smoking traditional cigarettes.

In a speech for parliament, the Kiwi Minister for Health shared her thoughts on a study that showed how low the teen smoking rate had fallen. The study results are crystal clear: smoking rates have never been so low. She indicated that the number fell below 2%, whereas two decades ago 15.2% of teens admitted to smoking every day.

The country is pushing its anti-tobacco strategy to become “tobacco-free” by 2025

Interestingly, the number of non-smoking vaping enthusiasts has also fallen, from 0.8 to 0.5 %. This is all good news for a country that is working towards a “tobacco-free” goal by 2025 thanks to a strict anti-smoking policy. The strategy includes:

– smoking bans in public spaces

– limitations on cigarette product visibility in shops

– fines up to 10 000 New Zealand dollars (6 000 Euros) for any sale of cigarettes to underage customers

– neutral packaging and a ban on tobacco advertising…

This far-reaching plan has the almost unanimous support of the political body and is well received in the public opinion. Certain aspects, such as the ban on smoking in public spaces, are however harder to enforce. Given that identity paper checks are not carried out on the islands, those breaking the rules have no problem lying about their age and identity.