Research so far says that vaping is 95% less harmful than tobacco.
Hāpai te Hauora CEO Selah Hart says that vaping is a new technology, which means less research has been done to truly gauge how vaping affects Māori.
But she says Hāpai te Hauora has been supportive of enabling access to vaping.
Selah Hart talks vaping - Photo / File
Hart says Hāpai te Hauora will support anything that will help Māori quit smoking. That includes, she says, the opportunity for Māori to shape their own quit-smoking schemes.
High tobacco prices have been designed to price people out of smoking. Low vaping and e-cigarette prices make these options more viable.
Having readily accessible information to enable informed choices is key, she says.
She concludes that the more needs to be done to achieve auahi kore 2025.
*A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed a statement to Hāpai Te Hauora saying “tobacco is still the lesser of two evils.” Māori Television apologises unreservedly for misrepresenting the position of Hāpai Te Hauora on vaping and tobacco.
For more info see: https://vapingfacts.health.nz/