Under-35s buying less vapes could be result of tighter regulations

Photo: 123rf Under-35s are spending less on vapes each year, according to an analysis of bank transactions by Dot Loves Data. Eighteen to 24-year-olds spent $90 million on vape products throughout 2025, down from $105 million in 2024. And among those aged 25 to 34 - historically the largest spending cohort - spend was down from $122m in 2024, to $113m in 2025. Justin Lester, director of Dot Loves Data, said those numbers had been trending down since 2023 - and so far, were continuing to fall in 2026. Dot Loves Data, based in Wellington, was bought by ANZ in 2022, giving it exclusive daily access to ANZ transactions on credit and eftpos cards, which made up 35 percent of transactions nationwide. Overall, Lester said, vape spend was down, after peaking at $34 million a month in 2025. By this January, that figure had dropped to $32 million. Annually, New Zealanders spent a total of $401 million on vaping products in 2025, compared with $417 million in 2024. It was not possible to see what products people were buying based on the data, Lester said, and they didn't collect data for under-18s. Lester said this trend was likely a consequence of tightening restrictions around marketing and flavours. The government had made a range of regulation changes in recent years, including a ban on disposable vapes and a restrictions for marketing and flavours. However, it was a different story among older demographics. For age groups over 35, spending remained comparatively steady, even increasing in line with price increases. In general, men spent more on vapes than women. According to the 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey, 11.7 percent of adults were daily vapers, with the highest rates found among those aged 18 to 34, Māori and Pacific people, and adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods. Jonathan Devery, chairperson of the Vaping Industry Association (VIANZ), said the figures were encouraging, and pointed to those restrictions targeting young people having an effect. While data wasn't available for under-18s, the ASH Year 10 Snapshot Survey of up to 30,000 students each year, showed regular vaping was on the decline. Devery said those who didn't experiment with vapes as teenagers were less likely to carry the habit into their twenties. "Daily and experimental use amongst that age group has been on a steady decline for five years now, so I think you're seeing a relationship between those under-18s not experimenting or using those products as they were five or so years ago, and those Kiwis falling into the new dataset no longer using those products." Devery said, according to retailers, the disposable ban had had the largest impact on sales. He said research had shown the older generation tended to be the ones who had replaced a smoking habit with vaping, and were not such big users of the disposable, fun-flavoured alternatives. ANZ data far higher than government estimate The ANZ number was far higher than the Ministry of Health's estimated total sales for "notifiable products" (vaping, smokeless tobacco, and herbal smoking products). In 2024, the most recent year available, it was "at least $280 million", compared to ANZ's $401 million. The ministry noted its estimate was based on specialist vape retailers reporting their sales data, and was incomplete. Data for 2025 was not available for comparison. Devery explained those estimates relied on retailers and distributors accurately reporting their sales, but that wasn't always happening, and a better, clearer platform for reporting data might help. "Retailers, distributors, suppliers are all doing their best with the education and platform that they have available to them." A Ministry of Health spokesperson said it continued to work with industry to improve the usability and reliability of the annual returns system. As the law left a relatively short window in which to submit annual returns, it had taken "a pragmatic approach" to ensure industry participants had enough time to submit complete and accurate information by allowing late or corrected submissions. "This helps ensure that any information released publicly reflects the most accurate picture of the market," it said. But Letitia Harding, chief executive of the Asthma Foundation, said there needed to be harsher consequences for retailers for poor reporting. "It's got to have enforcement, and that's definitely been lacking," she said. The ministry said for the past year its compliance focus had been on retail practices that presented the greatest potential public health risk, like sales to minors, visibility and advertising restrictions. "Annual returns reporting remains important for regulatory oversight; however, it has not been an area where limited compliance resources have been heavily directed." The ministry said it was unable to comment on the reported discrepancy between its number, and ANZ's, "as we do not have visibility of how ANZ has collected or calculated its...

Under-35s buying less vapes could be result of tighter regulations

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