Smoking among young teens hits record low as vaping increases
The New Zealand Herald reports that smoking among young teens has fallen to a record low, reaching the Smokefree 2025 goal of less than 5 per cent smoking daily, a new study has found.
Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) surveyed over 26,600 Year 10 students from 50 per cent of New Zealand's high schools.
The study found that the number of 13- and 14-year-olds who smoke cigarettes daily dropped from around 2 per cent in 2019, to 1.3 per cent in 2021.
It also found significant declines in smoking by students of all ethnicities, only 3.4 per cent of Māori students which is a 40 per cent decrease compared to 2019.
To read more, click HERE
Latest News
See all news >
Dr Murray Laugesen (1935–2026)
13 October 2026
Action for Smokefree Aotearoa (ASH) is deeply saddened by the death of Dr Murray Laugesen (1...
Read more >
Documents released under the Official Information Act
09 September 2026
Download documents released about ASH following an Official Information Act request by Calvi...
Read more >
Vaping no longer considered 'cool' by youths as underage vaping numbers drop
01 December 2025
An anti-smoking group says young people don't think vaping is as cool as it used to be. Act...
Read more >
Is a smokefree generation within reach?
01 December 2025
Data reveals rates of vaping and smoking in young people is on the decline. This report is a...
Read more >
Vaping rates drop for Year 10 students
01 December 2025
A survey of more than 30,000 Year 10 students has found vaping rates have dropped from a pea...
Read more >
Youth vaping rates halve within two years, 'negligible' number smoking - survey
01 December 2025
A survey of more than 30,000 of New Zealand's Year 10 students has indicated that the percep...
Read more >
Is vaping no longer cool for teens?
30 November 2025
A new health survey, provided exclusively to the Sunday Star-Times, signals that vaping migh...
Read more >
Opinion: NZ is on the cusp of smokefree history, we should celebrate – Robert Beaglehole
11 July 2025
Robert Bealgehole, Emeritus Professor, University of Auckland and Founder and Chair, ASH, be...
Read more >