Key points about young people and vaping
- vaping may be less harmful than smoking, but its long-term effects are still unknown
- nicotine can change the way the teenage brain develops and works
- experimentation with vaping often begins at a young age
- vaping is bad for a young person's health
- the best thing for your young person's health is to be smoke-free and vape-free
- vaping can be helpful for adults who wish to quit smoking
What is vaping?
A 'vape' or an 'e-cigarette' is a device that heats vape liquid to create a vapour. Users inhale and exhale the vapour. Vape liquid often contains nicotine as well as chemicals and flavours. You can also get nicotine-free vape liquid.
What vape devices look like
A vape device can come in many different shapes and forms. Some look like a traditional cigarette, pipe or cigar. They can look like everyday items such as pens, stationery or memory sticks (USBs). Some are even disguised within clothing or as medical devices.
This photo shows different types of vapes. They come in many shapes, sizes and colours.
Source: iStock
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The image is made up of 4 different photos:
- The top left photo shows neatly arranged vapes and pods in different shapes and colors, laid out on a white background.
- The top right photo shows a pile of colorful disposable vapes in pink, green, red, blue, and more, scattered randomly.
- The bottom left photo shows larger, reusable vape devices with tanks and buttons, placed on a wooden surface.
- The bottom right photo displays many upright disposable vapes in bright colors, standing on a white surface.
Vaping in young people
The Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) Year 10 Snapshot surveys 20,000 to 30,000 New Zealand students every year. The survey asks about smoking and vaping behaviours and attitudes. The 2024 results report that 8.7% of year 10 students vape daily.
Visit the Action for Smokefree 2025 website to check out the survey results from 2024.
How vaping harms young people
Vaping has short-term and long-term side effects. Researchers and health professionals don't know about all the side effects yet. Vaping is harmful to tamariki and rangatahi.
Young people can become dependent on nicotine. Nicotine is harmful and can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Being addicted to vaping can affect a young person’s relationships, school life, and work.
Harmful effects of nicotine
Not all vape liquids contain nicotine, but many do, and nicotine is very addictive.
Some of the harmful effects of nicotine:
- being addicted to nicotine makes it very hard to stop using it
- someone withdrawing from nicotine can experience lots of unpleasant symptoms
- nicotine can change the way the brain develops and works in young people
- there is an association between nicotine use and depression and anxiety
- a young person's vaping behaviours may disrupt their school, work and relationships
- maintaining a vaping habit is expensive
- nicotine can cause death at high doses
This illustration shows how nicotine can cause harm to the body. It highlights health risks for people who smoke and vape nicotine.
Source: KidsHealth
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The illustration shows a young person holding a vape and a cigarette and breathing out vapour. Labels around the body explain the harmful effects of nicotine:
- Brain: 'Nicotine can change the structure and function of the teenage brain' and can cause 'headaches, dizziness and irritability'.
- Mouth: 'Tooth decay, cavities and gum disease'.
- Lungs: 'Lung inflammation'.
- Stomach area: 'Diarrhoea, nausea, heartburn'.
- Heart: 'Increase in heart rate and blood pressure'.
- Immune system: 'Lowered immunity'.
- Overall warning: 'Nicotine is toxic and can cause death'.
At the bottom left is the KidsHealth logo with the website: kidshealth.org.nz
Signs and symptoms of vaping addiction
Young people who are withdrawing from nicotine may show the following:
- vaping as soon as they wake up or overnight
- cravings all the time
- irritability
- trouble sleeping
- they can't function if they don't use their vape
- they can't stop vaping despite wanting to
Vaping addiction can harm a young person’s school, work, and relationships.
If your young person is having nicotine withdrawal, talk to a health professional. They can give you some options to help your child quit.
Harmful effects of vaping
Vaping has only been around for about 15 years, and in that time, vape devices have changed a lot. Researchers don't know about all the side effects yet.
Short-term effects
Vaping may cause nausea, headache and cough and can irritate the mouth and throat.
Vape devices can overheat and explode causing burns.
Long-term effects
Long-term effects include inflammation deep within the lungs. Vaping can increase your blood pressure and heart rate. It can make asthma symptoms worse, especially in rangatahi.
Lung injury
Researchers have linked vaping to a serious lung injury called EVALI. EVALI stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). People with this lung injury have had to go to the hospital. In extreme cases, people have died. Many cases of this lung injury involve vapes that contain cannabis or vitamin E oil.
This illustration shows how vaping can cause harm to the body. It shows the health risks for people who vape.
Source: KidsHealth
transcribeTranscript
The illustration shows a young person holding a vape and a cigarette and breathing out vapour. Labels around the body explain the health risks of vaping:
- Vapour: 'Contains hundreds of harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, heavy metals, and solvents'.
- Left hand/device: 'Devices can overheat, explode and cause burns'.
- Brain: 'Dry and irritated mouth and throat'.
- Right hand/cigarette: 'Vape users may be more likely to take up smoking'.
- Lungs: 'Lung irritation and worsening of lung disease.'
- Bottom lung area: 'Vaping can cause EVALI – E-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury'.
At the bottom left is the KidsHealth logo with the website: kidshealth.org.nz
Support your young person to quit vaping
Start a conversation
There are lots of ways to help your young person quit vaping. Starting a conversation is important. Listen to them with patience.
Ask your young person why they like vaping and help them to think of other ways to meet this need. Talk about what they don't like about vaping and help them identify reasons for stopping.
Talk about the benefits of being vape-free, such as saving money.
Check out the helpful guide on the NZ Drug Foundation website. It walks you through talking to your child about vaping.
Be a good role model
If you are a smoker or vaper, talk to your child about your experiences and how hard it is to quit. Consider getting your own support to stop.
If you want to give up smoking or vaping:
- call the free Quitline Me Mutu on 0800 778 778 or text 4006
- ask a health professional for support
Check the Quitline website. Quitline is available for all ages and can help you or your child quit vaping (even if you're not smoking).
Look at the facts
Look at some online resources with your child. There is a lot of false information on the internet, so look at websites and information you can trust.
Check out the Don't Get Sucked In website. It encourages youth not to start vaping in the first place. It has a quiz you can work through with your child to check how much they know.
Talk about peer-pressure
Young people can feel pressure because of the behaviours of people around them. Remind your child they can say no to things they don't want to do. Help them to feel confident to make their own choices.
Get help
Share your concerns with your child. If you think your child has a nicotine addiction, get help to support them to quit. Talk to a health professional.
You could also talk to your child's teacher or the school about how they deal with vaping.
Laws around vaping in Aotearoa
There is a Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020. It stops the marketing and sale of vaping products to young people. At the same time, it lets adults access them if they want to quit smoking.
The Act requires all schools and school grounds to be smoke-free and vape-free.
Even with the laws about vape use in Aotearoa, some young people can get vapes and vape equipment.
The law prohibits the sale or supply of any vaping product to anyone under the age of 18.
See the Vaping Facts website by the Ministry of Health for more information on vaping laws in Aotearoa.
More resources for parents and rangatahi on vaping
Take a look at the Protect Your Breath social media project. It was created by youth together with schools and health experts. The project encourages young people to have confidence in their decision-making.
Find out more facts about youth vaping from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ.
Acknowledgements
Harmful effects of nicotine and vaping infographic illustrations by Dr Greta File. Property of KidsHealth.
