The Foundation's position on Vaping

The best thing that you can do for your respiratory health is to be smokefree and vape free.

The Foundation acknowledges that vaping, along with wraparound quit smoking support, may help some people to quit tobacco cigarettes.

We recognise that the Ministry of Health needs to balance the availability of vape products as a quit smoking tool, with protecting young people and non-smokers from the harms of vaping.

We believe that currently this balance is off, and that more regulations are needed to protect young New Zealanders from these harms.

The Foundation welcomes recent proposals from the Government to tighten restrictions around vaping. However, we are continuing to push for the following measures:

• Greater restrictions on maximum nicotine concentrations: We need to follow the European Union’s lead and restrict the maximum nicotine concentrations allowed in all vapes to 20mg/ml. The current maximum level is 28.5mg/ml.

• Greater enforcement of the current rules, so that young people cannot access vapes so readily and stronger penalties for those breaking the rules.

• Limit the number of retailers who can sell vapes, and keep vaping stores out of the immediate vicinity of schools.

• Close the loophole that allows dairies and convenience stores to operate as Specialist Vaping Retailers (SVR) by cornering off part of their premises.

• Banning disposable vaping products.

Read more about the Foundation’s position in this opinion piece by our CE Letitia Harding.

Medical Society Statements

World Health Organisation: Evidence reveals that these products are harmful to health and not safe.

European Lung Association: We cannot recommend tobacco harm reduction as a population-based strategy

American Lung Association: The American Lung Association is very concerned that we are at risk of losing another generation to tobacco-caused diseases as the result of e-cigarettes.

Canadian Medical Association: Health Canada Consultation on Proposed Vaping Products Promotion Regulations

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

American Association for Cancer Research & the American Society of Clinical Oncology: Updated Position Statement

Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand: Position statement

Manatū Hauora/Ministry of Health: Position on vaping

Research into vaping and e-cigarettes

Health impact

Second hand nicotine vaping at home and respiratory symptoms in young adults, BMJ. 2022

Marques et al. An updated overview of e-cigarette impact on human health, BMC. 2021

Overbeek et al. A review of toxic effects of electronic cigarettes/vaping in adolescents and young adults, Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 2020.

Tsai et al. Effects of e-cigarettes and vaping devices on cardiac and pulmonary physiology, Journal of Physiology. 2020.

Bayly et al., Secondhand Exposure to Aerosols From Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Asthma Exacerbations Among Youth With Asthma, Chest, Jan 2019 

Dawkins et.al., 'Real-world' compensatory behaviour with low nicotine concentration e-liquid: subjective effects and nicotine, acrolein and formaldehyde exposure. Addiction October 2018 

Secondhand Exposure to Aerosols from Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Asthma Exacerbations Among Youth with Asthma, CHEST journal, 2018

E-cigarettes: Public Health England's evidence-based confusion, The Lancet, 2015

Gateway to smoking

Yoong et al., Association between electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems with initiation of tobacco use in individuals aged < 20 years. PLOS One, 2021.

Khouja et al., Is e-cigarette use in non-smoking young adults associated with later smoking? A systematic review and meta-analysis. National Library of Medicine. 2020

Olfson et al., E-cigarette Use Among Young Adults in the U.S., American Journal of Preventative Medicine May 2019

Conner et al., Do electronic cigarettes increase cigarette smoking in UK adolescents? Evidence from a 12-month prospective study, Tobacco Control July 2018

Primack et al., Initiation of Traditional Cigarette Smoking after Electronic Cigarette Use Among Tobacco-Naïve US Young Adults, American Journal of Medicine April 2018 

Bold et.al., Trajectories of E-Cigarette and Conventional Cigarette Use Among Youth, Pediatrics January 2018

Smoking cessation

Effects of vaping on uptake and cessation of smoking: Longitudinal analysis in Aotearoa NZ adults, Drug and Alcohol Review, June 2023

Effects of e-cigarettes plus counselling vs counselling along on smoking cessation, JAMA 2020.

Worku et al. A narrative review evaluating the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes as a newly marketed smoking cessation tool. SAGE Open Medicine. 2019.

Hajek et.al., A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy, New England Journal of Medicine, February 2019

Beard et al., Is prevalence of e-cigarette and nicotine replacement therapy use among smokers associated with average cigarette consumption in England? A time-series analysis, BMJ Open