The rise of teen vaping in New Zealand has not been the magic bullet to stub out cigarettes, new evidence shows.

The research, published in The Lancet, found that the introduction and rapid rise of vaping in New Zealand has had little to no impact on the rate of decline in daily smoking among 14 to 15-year-olds between 1999 to 2023.

This is a significantly different conclusion to a 2020 study that looked at the same data except over a shorter period (2014-2019), which concluded that vaping may have displaced smoking among NZ youth.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive Letitia Harding said this new evidence challenges the idea that vaping among young people was the answer for the decline in smoking rates.

“For years, we’ve warned about the rapid rise of youth vaping, and this research strengthens the case for stronger policies to protect young people from both vaping and smoking.”

The study also highlights concerns about the 2020 study that suggested vaping was reducing youth smoking rates.

That research was widely used to support regulatory decisions in New Zealand and was even referenced by tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco, in policy debates.

“This new study sets the record straight, so we can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to protecting young people,” Harding said.

“Tobacco companies certainly do not have the interests of our teens at heart.”

The Government needs to take these findings very seriously, she says.

“They need to listen and to ensure that policies reflect the reality that vaping was not the answer to smoking, and that it actually made things worse by simply introducing a new problem for our teens to tackle.

“We know that stronger regulations, better enforcement, and education programmes make a big impact – and we need these now more than ever.”

Between now and June, a flurry of new vaping laws will take effect, including the ban on disposable vapes, a ban on displaying products (in-store and online), and a ban on discounts and giveaways.

The foundation supports these changes but also wants the Government to halt the establishment of further Specialist Vape Retailers (SVRs), limit the nicotine content of all vape products to 20mg/ml and re-look at the prescription model.