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A teenager vaping an e-cigarette. Photo: 123RF
A group of health professionals and educators is calling for New Zealand to follow Australia's lead and make vapes prescription only.
According to a study by the anti smoking group ASH, over 250,000 New Zealanders vape daily. Another survey of 19 thousand secondary school students, by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, found that more than a quarter of them had vaped in the last week - nearly 20 per cent vaping daily or several times daily - and the majority with high nicotine doses.
In Australia vapes are prescription only - for people trying to quit cigarettes.
However experts there say the system has many loopholes and further regulation is urgently needed.
Kathryn speaks with Curtin University Professor of Public Health Jonine Jancey, whose latest research looks at the slick marketing tactics and claims by online vape retailers; and University of Sydney School of Public Health associate professor Becky Freeman who leads the Generation Vape research project.
The interview discusses this article in The Lancet.