Vaping refers to the use of an electronic device to heat a liquid and turn it into a vapour that the user inhales.

Smoking and vaping are different in that while smoking distributes nicotine by burning tobacco, which can lead to illnesses associated with smoking, vaping delivers nicotine by heating a liquid in a considerably less harmful way.

Today, an estimated 346,000 Kiwis vape daily - vaping poses the most serious threat to smoking with the latest New Zealand Health Survey results showing the rate of daily smoking has dropped to an all time low of 6.8% in 2022/23. With smokefree ambitions of less than 5% of New Zealanders smoking by 2025 which vaping has undoubtedly contributed to

Compared to smoking cigarettes, vaping exposes consumers to significantly fewer and lower amounts of toxins. Making the switch to vaping greatly lowers your exposure to substances that can lead to respiratory illnesses, cancer, and circulatory and cardiac disorders such as heart attacks and strokes.

Vaping is not only cheaper but it is proven to be inherently safer than smoking.

While vaping is not harmfree, it is substantially safer than smoking and there are three major types of vaping products available in New Zealand; disposable vape devices, vape pens, and vape mods.

According to ASH the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group concludes that switching to vaping is likely to lead to significant improvements in health.

Vaping lacks the most harmful components of conventional cigarettes. Public Health England concluded that they are 95% less harmful than cigarettes, but substantially more effective in delivering nicotine than medicinal nicotine products. This helps manage nicotine withdrawal with a fraction of the harm from tobacco, and delivered in a way that is far more acceptable to many smokers who want to quit.

Someone new to vaping will notice a number of differences. Crucially, while vaping offers a similar experience to smoking, mimicking both the physical and social aspects, it is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.

When a person first starts vaping, they might find they need to adjust to the alternative way nicotine is entering their body. Rather than smoking a cigarette all in one go to get the nicotine hit, vaping is more about microdosing over time. This allows vapers to adjust their intake to the level their body requires titrating up or down as needed to support their individual quit journey.

Research commissioned by the UKVIA found that eight in ten vapers (83%) believe flavours helped them ‘pack in their smoking habit’ and that the most popular flavours amongst adult vapers included blueberry, watermelon, cherry, raspberry and strawberry.

It is a misconception that flavours are only designed to appeal to young people. Research shows they play a critical role for adults who are using e-cigarettes as an avenue to quit smoking.

According to Te Whatu Ora vaping is significantly cheaper than smoking. After the initial $40-$60 set-up cost, vaping is approximately 10% of what smoking costs. If a consumer smokes a pack a day it will cost approximately $9,000 a year, and vaping in a way to stop smoking would cost approximately $900.

Te Whatu Ora has a website called Quitstrong which provides comprehensive advice on vaping including access to local coaches and ongoing support to help become smokefree.

Specialist vape retail stores are also well placed to support consumers with their smokefree journey. Staff are trained to provide information on the different types of vaping options available and can offer support on the product that is most likely to suit your individual needs.

What is the best place to purchase my vaping products from?

All vaping products, including e-liquids and pre-filled devices, should adhere to the same safety and quality requirements, so it shouldn't matter where you purchase them.

Regretfully, a small percentage of unscrupulous retailers are disobeying the law and are selling illegal, non-compliant goods.

The best way to ensure you are purchasing a safe, quality product is to buy from VIANZ member stores (e.g. VAPO), reputable retailers and recognised online sites. Be aware of any warning signs that a product may not be compliant such as a lack of health warnings, non-compliant packaging or nicotine levels.

Each individual's stop smoking journey is unique. When consumers successfully swap to vaping, many find they are happy to keep consuming nicotine without the health hazards that come with smoking tobacco.

Others wish to completely give up nicotine use. This can be achieved by gradually moving to e-liquids with reduced nicotine contents.

Since 2021, the use of 0% and 2% nicotine strength products has increased four-fold, and there is a common misconception that people stay on the higher nicotine products. Initially consumers seeking to quit smoking rely heavily on the 4-5% nicotine strength products, as these are the only products that provide the equivalent amount of nicotine to a traditional cigarette.

Without the 4-5% option smokers would really struggle to quit. Current data shows consumers are beginning to transition down the nicotine levels as they grow in confidence on their smoking cessation journey.

Te Whatu Ora’s Protect Your Breath website is a great source of information for anyone interesting in quitting vaping.

Smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world – killing more than 5000 people each year in Aotearoa.

Cigarette smoke contains more than 5,000 chemicals, 70 of which are known to cause cancer. According to the Ministry of Health smoking is responsible for 80% of lung cancer cases in New Zealand.

By comparison, there isn't a single documented case of someone dying from using any regulated, legal, compliant vaping products.

Studies suggest that smoking one cigarette results in the body absorbing 1-2mg of nicotine. This means consumption of ten cigarettes per day is equivalent to 10-20mg of nicotine and 20 cigarettes-a-day is equivalent to 20-40mg of nicotine.

By comparison, a 20 mg/mL disposable vaping device with the maximum nicotine concentration allowed in New Zealand would contain 40mg of nicotine – roughly the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes.

However, because vapers tend to microdose to meet their individual needs, a vaping device can last for a lot longer than one day. This makes it difficult to give an accurate comparison.

Vaping products are classified under Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act, as R18. This means it is against the law in New Zealand for people under the age of 18 to buy cigarettes and vaping products.

The Vaping Regulatory Authority, part of the Ministry of Health, is the regulator. The industry operates under the 2020 amendment to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Regulations 2021, Vaping devices must also adhere to the as well as the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 and report any in respect of vaping devices. The industry is safety conscious and reports any adverse reactions to the New Zealand Pharmacovigilance Centre.

Youth vaping numbers have risen across Aotearoa due to a lack of enforcement of the regulations by authorities. VIANZ is extremely concerned that recent changes to the legislation fail to address this fundamental issue and the risk to our youth remains.

VIANZ continues to work with regulators to introduce meaningful measures to protect our youth. VIANZ supports:

1. Ban of single use vaping devices from the New Zealand market.

2. As with the sale of other controlled products (liquor) a licence must be required to operate as a Specialist Vape Retailer (SVR).

3. To obtain a licence an SVR must be a stand-alone operating site.

4. Heavier penalties for businesses that sell to minors or import or sell non-compliant products.

5. Authorities to increase enforcement of the legislative and regulatory SVR requirements.

6. All online sellers need to incorporate driver’s licence and/or passport verification software into the sales process alongside additional measures to prevent youth accessing products.

Research by ASH (2022) indicates that 91.3% of Year-10 students who vape daily did not source their vape from a Specialist Vape Retailer. More than 75% of students are accessing products from social sources, either friends, older people or family. Data found 7.6% of those who regularly vape say their main source of vapes was a vape shop, dairy or online. 

VIANZ is a strong advocate of youth vaping prevention and we collaborate across industry and with Government to support initiatives that limit youth access.

Popcorn lung (bronchiolitis obliterans) is a rare type of lung disease, but it is not cancer. It is caused by a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs, which blocks the flow of air. It is thought the chemical diacetyl is potentially linked to the disease.

The disease got its name when workers in a popcorn factory developed the condition after breathing in diacetyl, the chemical which was used to give popcorn a buttery flavour.

Diacetyl is one of the thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke but it is banned as a vape flavouring in New Zealand.

Advice from Te Whatu Ora is that the main difference between smoking and vaping is that smoking delivers nicotine by burning tobacco, which can cause smoking-related illnesses. Vaping delivers nicotine in a much less harmful way by heating a liquid. While nicotine is addictive, it doesn't cause cancer.