December 05, 2022
Smoking rate decline puts 2025 target in reach
The head of Action for Smokefree 2025 has welcomed the latest annual ASH survey showing only 1.1 percent of 14 and 15 year olds is a daily smoker.
The survey found the increase in the vaping rate seems to be levelling off for most groups, and the overall smoking rate is just 8 percent, the lowest ever.
Professor Robert Beaglehole says at the current rate of decline the Smokefree 2025 goal of 5 percent is achievable.
“The fact our young people now are not smoking is one of the best news stories of the year, record low rates, rates coming down and coming down for Maori and pakeha in particular so really a good news story,” he says,
Professor Beaglehole says he’s concerned at the number of young Maori women vaping, and he’d like to see more programmes encouraging them not to take up any kind of smoking.