According to a study that questioned 19,000 secondary school students, 26 per cent of teenagers are regular vape users, reports Stuff.

The study that was conducted by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand (ARFNZ) found that the number of teenagers who vape had increased significantly compared to two years earlier. 26 per cent of the teenagers surveyed had used vapes in the past week and 15 per cent had smoke cigarettes. According to Stuff, almost 20 per cent of the teens were vaping on a daily basis and more than half of them were vaping more often than a year earlier.
The results of the study have led ARFNZ to a call for law changes that would increase the age to buy vapes from 18 to 21, put a limit on the nicotine allowed in vapes and ban the sale of vaping products within 1 kilometre of schools, according to Stuff.
“Many young people are picking up high-nicotine vapes without ever having smoked a cigarette, and swiftly becoming addicted to nicotine,” the chief executive of ARFNZ Letitia Harding said.
“It’s also really worrying how easily young people are accessing vapes, with the majority buying their vapes at dairies. Given that sale to under-18s is prohibited, and the vast majority of students surveyed are under 18, this is really concerning,” she added.