Photo: Unsplash / Tbel Abuseridze
A new study out of the universities of Otago, Auckland and Sydney, and the Daffodil Centre in Australia, has found that vaping has impacted a decline in smoking among New Zealand's Pacific youth - but not in a positive way.
Research published in The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific has found Aotearoa's progress in reducing smoking has slowed for Māori, Pacific and European adolescents, and vaping could be the reason.
A senior author of the research, associate professor Andrew Waa said their results do not support claims that vaping reduces harms for Māori and Pacific youth - but instead shows that vaping has substantially added to them.
"We sometimes hear that e-cigarettes might be a harm-reduction device for Māori and Pacific youth, by reducing or stopping them from smoking," he said.
"Our results show the opposite."
The researchers compared smoking trends from 2003 to 2009, before vaping became common in Aotearoa, with those from 2010 to 2024 - when vaping became increasingly common.
They found rates of regular smoking among 14-15-year-olds declined significantly for Māori, Pacific, European, and Asian adolescents between 2003 and 2024.
But these declines in smoking slowed for Māori, Pacific, and European youth after vaping emerged in 2010.
"[Vaping] has become a major additional source of nicotine dependence, carries its own health risks, and appears to have led to more adolescents smoking," Waa said.
He said the findings are especially concerning for Māori and Pacific youth, who already have much higher rates of smoking and vaping than their peers.
"The inequities isn't so much of a surprise in terms of higher vaping rates and having higher impacts on Māori and Pacific students.
"It's more of a disappointment because we know this happens and we know the way to address this is through really good, strong government policy."
In 2024, regular smoking among 14-15-year-olds was approximately 6.2 percent for Māori, 3.3 percent for Pacific, and 2 percent for European adolescents.
However, the study found that if each group's pre-2010 smoking trend had continued, the estimated 2024 prevalences would have been 4.2 percent for Māori, 1.8 percent for Pacific, and 0.7 percent for European adolescents.
Co-author Dr Lucy Hardie said the results indicate that, for every 1000 students, there were 20 more Māori, 15 more Pacific and 13 more European students smoking regularly in 2024, than there would have been if pre-2010 smoking trends had continued.
Nicotine and the Treaty of Waitangi
Associate professor Waa said the implications extend into indigenous rights and obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and international frameworks.
"Before colonisation, Māori were free from nicotine addiction," he said.
"Today, nicotine from cigarettes and vapes undermines Māori self-determination by embedding dependence within our communities."
He said governments have duties under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
"Policies that enable easy access to vaping products don't just miss the mark on health - they also fall short of Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments and of Aotearoa's international obligations to address inequities affecting indigenous peoples."
