Many NZ uni students vaping for curiosity, not to quit smoking

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-10-08 00:01

New Zealand

Researchers looked at survey data asking NZ uni students about their cigarette and vaping use before and after it became legal to sell nicotine-containing e-cigarettes in 2018. Rates of vaping at least once a month nearly doubled (from 6.8% to 13.5%) and students reported that they saw e-cigs as less harmful than traditional smoking. All the while, rates of cigarette smoking stayed about the same. After the change, uni students reported they were vaping for curiosity (63%) and enjoyment (16.5%), more so than to quit smoking (5.7%).

Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

This research assessed the patterns of cigarette smoking and electronic cigarette use (vaping) among university students in New Zealand at two time points: first (or T1, March 2018) when it was illegal to sell nicotine-containing e-cigarettes in New Zealand, and second (or T2, March 2019) twelve months after nicotine-containing e-cigarettes could legally be sold in New Zealand. The study found: similar patterns of smoking at T1 and T2; significantly higher prevalence of vaping at T2 compared with T1; significantly lower prevalence of non-use in smoke-free spaces at T2 compared with T1, and significantly fewer students perceiving e-cigarettes as less harmful than tobacco cigarettes at T2 compared with T1. These results suggest that university students may be vaping for other reasons other than to quit smoking.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Canterbury

Funder: n/a

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