Jude Ball: University of Otago Senior Research Fellow on the first of its kind youth vaping study

A first of its kind University of Otago study has revealed worrying misconceptions among our teens about vaping. 

The study found widespread belief that vaping will help with stress and anxiety, prompting people to use it as a coping mechanism. 

Is vaping as popular with young people as smoking was as its worst?  

University of Otago Senior Research Fellow Jude Ball discusses the issue with Ryan Bridge, if young people are pressured by their peers to pick up the habit, and whether we are drawing too much attention to vaping as whole. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A new University of Otago study, first of it's kind
study in New Zealand revealing worrying misconceptions amongst our teenagers
about vaping. Around fifteen percent of fourteen to fifteen year
olds of vape monthly, and that's despite those who were
interviewed being well aware of the risks. Dr Jude Ballers
with US University of Otago Senior a search fellow, Drew,

(00:20):
good morning, Good morning. What are the misconceptions that the
teenagers who do vape have?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well? I do want to emphasize that the majority of
young people don't vape, and as you said, most young
people are quite clued up about the risks of vaping.
But we did find a widespread misconception not only among
those who vape, but also some who didn't, who thought
that use of vaping was going to help them with
stress and anxiety and we're using it as a coping tool.

(00:50):
And that's concerning because there's overseas evidence that medium to
long term use of high doses of nicotine actually is
likely to make mental health problems worse.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
That's an interesting one because if I mean, isn't their
self reporting the only way to tell whether it relieves
their stress or anxiety. I mean, if they say it
relieves their stress and anxiety, are they not right?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Sure? They are right in the moment, certainly that rush
of dopamine can make you feel calm, and once you've
become addicted, of course, having a vape reduces the you know,
the agitation that you have when you feel like you
really need a vape. But it's the long term impacts
that's likely to be problematic. You know, just like drinking

(01:34):
to relieve stress might feel good in the moment, but
you know, it can get out of controlling, can become Actually,
part of the problem.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Is vaping as widespread with young people as smoking was
when smoking was at it's worse for their parents.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
It's similar, if not higher. So we've got really high
rates of use vaping in New Zealand, higher than Australia,
the US, England. So although the rates have gone down
slightly in the last couple of years, it's still a
major issue here.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
What did they say about their mates and vaping. If
you're you know, if your friends are vaping, are you
more likely too? Or is there that pre pressure sort
of not exists like it used to.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
I think kind of both. So what we found is
that vaping kind of happened within peer groups, so either
everyone vaked or no one baked. Typically, but there is
a subtle peer pressure to vape, and partly that's because
there's a perception that everybody vapes, even among people who
say I don't vape, my friends don't vape, but they

(02:35):
still had a sense that vaping was totally normalized in
their age group.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Are we talking about it too much? Then? Do we
need to just shut up about vaping?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
I think that's not the issue. I think the issue
is so visible, it's so everywhere. And some of the
moves that the government have made to ban disposable vapes
and to make vaps less visible in shops, I think
that's a good move in a step in the right direction.
But we do need a more comprehensive approach, in particularly

(03:06):
one that addresses the fact that vape stores are everywhere
all right. You know, most suburbs have got at least
two or three vape stores, and they're in young people's
face every day.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah. I mean they're not supposed to get them from there, though,
are they That's the point that they're meant to be
rat But I mean, clearly they're.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Not it's not working, is it. I mean, it's only
supposed to be those stores that sell the frugi flavors.
But we know that those frugi flavors are what young
people are using, so they're certainly getting them somehow.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
All right, Dr dud Ball, appreciate your time. University of
Otago's Senior Research Fellow.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
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