Make vapes a pharmacy-only drug, say New Zealand health groups

Vaping has value as a tool to stop smoking, but many young people in New Zealand who have never smoked are taking it up instead, with uncertain health consequences. Photograph: Chicken Strip/Alamy

New Zealand public health researchers and doctors are calling for vapes to be made pharmacy- or prescription-only, as teen vaping rises sharply.

While the number of people smoking cigarettes in New Zealand has dropped to record lows, those taking up vaping – particularly teenagers – has soared, with youth vaping more than tripling between 2019 and 2021. Now some doctors’ groups are pushing for New Zealand to follow in Australia’s footsteps, where vapes have been made a prescription-only drug.