Young Kiwis stuck in the nicotine cycle

# What the story reports

New Zealand has a large cohort of daily vapers aged 15 to 24. The Ministry of Health's 2024–25 survey estimates roughly 138,000 people in that age group vape every day. Researchers and public-health commentators describe this group as the "vape generation."

# Why researchers identify a policy gap

A University of Auckland researcher, Lucy Hardie, links the rise in youth vaping to a policymaking window in about 2018 when the market expanded quickly. During that period vape stores proliferated and advertising, event sponsorship and social media influencer activity grew.

Hardie says the government's response was slow. When rules did arrive, she describes them as insufficient compared with other countries: nicotine concentrations in products were comparatively high, industry workarounds were common, and regulatory measures left loopholes.

# How public messaging affected young people

Government messaging framed vaping as a "safer alternative to smoking." Hardie argues those messages had unintended effects on young people who interpreted safety framing as a general endorsement. The result: some young people treated vaping as low-risk and became regular users.

Hardie also highlights a public-health angle often overlooked in the debate: addiction itself. She points out that the product is highly addictive, and frequent use generates daily withdrawal, cravings and agitation that can meaningfully affect users' daily lives.

# The next product risk: oral nicotine pouches

Hardie warns about oral nicotine pouches such as snus or Zyn-style products. These are illegal to sell in New Zealand but can be imported for personal use. Overseas they have been marketed as an alternative to smoking and in ways that target younger demographics.

While pouches avoid respiratory exposure, Hardie says they can reproduce the same pattern of reinforcing and maintaining nicotine addiction by offering another delivery route.

# What this means for policy and public communication

# Concluding point

The piece positions the current youth vaping rates as a preventable outcome of delayed or weak regulation and public messaging that emphasized relative risk over absolute risk. It draws attention to emerging nicotine products that could replicate the patterns seen with vapes.