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National | Health

Smoking rates highest among teen Māori girls

Smoking among New Zealand students is at an all-time low, but smoking rates for Māori and Pacific students remains disproportionately high, especially for teenaged Māori girls.

For the first time ever the smoking rate for students has reached below 2% according to research released today by Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH).

The data shows 1.9% of Year 10 students in 2018 smoked on a daily basis.  Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says that’s a dramatic drop from the 15.2% of students twenty years ago.

However, daily smoking rates for Māori participants were over five times higher than for non-Māori.  Māori girls reported the highest daily smoking rates of almost six percent.

“While that rate has decreased, it’s still higher than the overall rate of 1.9 percent," says Salesa.

“That needs to change and the gaps need to close. The government is absolutely committed to doing as much as it can to achieve our Smokefree 2025 goal.”

New research released by ASH. Source: ASH.

According to the ASH survey, vaping in New Zealand remains at relatively low figures and the habit is largely indulged in among students who smoke.

There is still no evidence to suggest vaping is a gateway to cigarette smoking.

"Only 0.5 percent of students who have never smoked vape daily– a drop from 0.8 percent in 2017."

Salesa says it is important that children continue to be protected from taking up smoking.

To help that happen, amendments are being made to the Smoke-free Environments Act to ban smoking in vehicles carrying children and to support smokers in switching to less harmful alternatives.