2022 Vaping Stand Downs Just 0.44% Of All School Students
Dairyowners
are pointing to a parliamentary answer that puts the vaping
“epidemic” in new light, with violence, a much larger
issue in schools and something dairy owners say is reflected
in youth crime. “No kid should vape, period, but if
kids were as addicted as some lobbyists claim in targeting
us as hugely compliant sellers, then there ought to be tens
of thousands being stood down but there’s nothing like
that,” says Sunny Kaushal, Chair of the Dairy and Business
Owners Group. “There were 3,582 vaping/smoking stand
downs last year. This is 0.44% of 815,151 school students.
Less than half a percent. “The biggest reason by
some margin was violence to each other (7,115) and staff
(765), harmful or dangerous behaviour (3,625) and then yes,
smoking/vaping at 3,582. We didn’t even count arson or
weapons in violence. “There were an unbelievable
1,256 stand downs for drugs, 309 stand downs for sexual
misconduct/harassment with 2,281 stand downs for verbal
assaults on staff or each other (2,281). “In total,
there were 22,723 stand downs last year so almost 3% of
every school student in Aotearoa was stood down for one
reason or another. “These are facts from a Written
Parliamentary Answer by the Minister of Education no less
that we applied against 2022 Ministry roll
data. “Being really conservative, and just going
with secondary students instead, then 3,582 vaping/smoking
stand downs in 2022 would be 1.27% of 282,839 secondary
pupils. “This may explain why 15 large schools we
approached in 2022, couldn’t tell us just how many vapes
they’d confiscated. It’s easy to show a drawer full of
vapes, but is that from last week, last month, last year, or
since 2019? “If we’re going to play percentages,
what about a 21% fall in vaping stand downs from Term 3 into
Term 4 2022? We know Auckland Grammar School stood down
fewer kids for vaping in the 13-months to June this year,
than for 12 months to May 2021 and that was Covid-19
affected too. “Then again, vaping seems to have
become an easy distraction for declining school discipline.
We get to experience this daily. In 2022, 1,708 serious
offenders were kids aged from under 10 to 17, then again,
91% of all serious offenders literally get away with
it. “This constant undermining of vaping undermines
the biggest reason why New Zealand could become smokefree,
with smoking still behind an eighth of all deaths [4,000 to
5,000 each year Dr Verrall says]. “People should
seriously start asking those who throw the biggest stones at
vaping and at us as hugely compliant sellers, just who
benefits if smokers suddenly lost access to the vapes?” Mr
Kaushal said. Please see Written Parliamentary Answer
2212 (2023) noting that smoking would include vaping stand
downs. Our 2023
Vaping Report is also
available. Dairy Owners Quick Facts on
Vaping: In 2022 vaping 3,582 smoking/vaping stand
downs represented 0.44% of all school students (or 1.27% if
applied to secondary school students only). Since July
2019, no hospital events in New Zealand have reported vaping
as a primary diagnosis. Since July 2022 (to 4 May 2023)
there has been no use of a vaping code in secondary
diagnosis and in 2022, it was used four times versus 346,000
daily vapers. Since 2016, ACC claim costs show vaping
is 3,207 times less costly than cycling ($172,661 versus
$553,813,748) comparing 346,000 daily vapers in 2022
(103,000 in 2017/18), to around 730,000 cyclists (48,000
cycled to work in 2018). Dairies, petrol stations and
supermarkets are highly compliant sellers with a median
compliance of 94% for cigarettes and RYO since 1 January
2019 and 97% for vaping sales since 1 January
2022. Ministry tobacco returns show that comparing
2012 to 2022 (11 years), imports of cigarette and RYO
tobacco have fallen by over 1,007 tonnes and the fall has
accelerated since 2018. The record fall in harmful
daily smoking mirrors the rise in far less harmful daily
vaping; between 2020/21 and 2021/22 (two years), 154,000
fewer people daily smoke including 45,000
Māori. While there is a focus on youth vaping, we
mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the Ministry of Health
says 90% of vapers over 25 are ex-smokers. Vaping is
not only 95% less harmful than smoking, it could be more
effective than prescribed Nicotine Replacement Therapies too
(2022 Kings College London for the UK Government and
Cochrane Reviews 2022). Reported vaping deaths in the
United States have been linked to illegal THC and Vitamin E
acetate
ingredients. ENDS For
more information: Sunny Kaushal (021 262
9595)