Demand for vaping education for 10 to 12-year-olds has quadrupled in the past year.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ vaping educators visited four schools in 2023 to educate Year 7 and 8 students. So far this year, that figure is 18.
Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says the dramatic increase shows the youth vaping crisis is escalating at a much younger age than first thought.
"These are children who should be thinking about their next school project, not being exposed to addictive substances.
"The rise in our workshops shows just how critical this issue has become."
Māori Community Liaison Ms Sharon Pihema, who conducts vaping education workshops around the country, says the rapid rise in demand should act as a wake-up call.
"Every time we step into a classroom, we are reminded of the critical work that still needs to be done.
"Our tamariki - some as young as eight - tell us that they have either already tried vaping, have been offered one, or are curious about them because they see their peers doing it."
Of the Year 5 - 8 students who provided feedback to our vaping educators this year, 85% believe the vaping industry deliberately targets teenagers and children, while 83% believe the government should be doing more to protect youth against the harms of vaping.
The increasing demand for workshops is a clear indication of the dire situation the country is in, Ms Pihema says.
"Our young people are the future, and we have a responsibility to protect them from the harms of vaping, but we can’t do it alone."
Ms Harding says the Foundation has been requesting funding from the Ministry of Health for these workshops since 2022.
"Every time we have approached the ministry to support these much-needed workshops, we have been turned down.
"We’ve even had staff from Te Whatu Ora and Stop Smoking Services ask us to host workshops."
The Foundation has been calling for the Government to implement stricter rules around vapes since they were first introduced in 2017.
It wants the Government to ban all front-of-store advertising and displays of vaping products, halt the establishment of further Specialist Vape Retailers (SVRs), limit the nicotine content of all vape products to 20 mg/mL, re-look at the prescription model, and support the Foundation’s vaping harm education workshop programme for rangatahi.
