Vaping
A trust is calling for restrictions on vaping, citing Waikato regional survey data showing daily e-cigarette use rose from three to 12 per cent in the five years to 2025.
For Māori in Waikato, Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board says the 2024-25 estimate appears substantially higher, at around 28 per cent.
Brandi Hudson
It warns market practices are driving nicotine addiction and undermining whānau wellbeing.
Tumu Whakarae of Te Tiratū, Brandi Hudson says the scale of harm across the region requires urgent action.
“Te Tiratū is extremely concerned about the widespread uptake of vaping products and the predatory marketing strategies used to lure our whānau into nicotine addiction,” she said.
“Vaping is not a harmless lifestyle choice. It is a rapidly normalised pathway into nicotine dependency for our young people, and we cannot afford to ignore what we are seeing in our communities.”
The iwi partnership board comprises representatives from Pare Hauraki, Waikato, Raukawa, Te Nehenehenui, Ngāti Hāua (Taumarunui) and Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa.
Tauāki Tū – Vaping Infographic
Its Vaping Position Statement has been developed with technical advisor Associate Professor Andrew Waa and calls for vaping products to be made available on prescription only.
“Locally, our town mapping identifies vape retailers in Te Awamutu, Te Kūiti and Ōtorohanga-Kāwhia, alongside young Māori populations and visible respiratory pressure,” Waa said.
“That is why vaping needs to be treated as a local rangatahi health issue, not just a national policy debate. Māori whānau in Waikato already carry a significant respiratory burden, and youth vaping adds another preventable nicotine and respiratory risk.”
Te Awamutu was identified as having 10 vape retailers or tobacco-linked premises, Te Kūiti three, and Ōtorohanga- Kāwhia two.
Primary Health Organisation data also shows in Te Awamutu 1008 Māori patients are registered with asthma, 670 in Te Kūiti and 433 in Ōtorohanga, the report says.
There are 121,000 Māori within the Waikato rohe covered by Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board and almost half are under 25 and a significant proportion are rurally based.
“Te Tiratū monitoring shows an average of 215 Māori children aged 14 and under were hospitalised for asthma each year between 2020 and 2023, at 1.9 times the rate of non-Māori children,” the board said.
“This is compounded by high levels of deprivation, damp and mould-affected housing, lower rates of primary care enrolment, and inequitable access to youth cessation support, primary care, and trusted local services.”
The board says vapes should only be available as regulated therapies to support people who smoke to quit nicotine addiction or switch to a less harmful alternative.
It would support restricting access to vaping products to accredited health related services and regulating the maximum amount of nicotine in vape liquids.
It also wants vape products to be in standardised packaging, limits placed on the range of flavours and vaping cessation support services for people who vape.
Vaping. Photo: Connor Danylenko from Pexels.
