A national survey shows that New Zealand teenagers are increasingly opting to be non-smokers.
16.8 percent of Year 10 New Zealand teenagers (approx. 14 - 15 years old) said they were smokers in 2005. This is a significant reduction compared with 1999 when the figure was 28.6 percent.
There were big differences in smoking rates between ethnicities and genders, with Maori Girls the most likely to be daily smokers.
Daily Smokers
| Ethnicity / Gender | Percentage Smoking Daily |
| European Boys | 5.4% |
| European Girls | 7.3% |
| Maori Boys | 14.0% |
| Maori Girls | 26.4% |
| Pacific Boys | 10.2% |
| Pacific Girls | 14.5% |
| Asian Boys | 5.3% |
| Asian Girls | 2.9% |
Becky Freeman, Director ASH New Zealand said, “Every year we notice a downward trend in the numbers of teenagers taking up smoking”.
If You Don’t Want Your Teenagers to Smoke,
Don’t Smoke Yourself
25.1 percent of students from homes where both parents smoked were themselves smokers . This amount is halved to 11.2 percent where only one parent smoked, and only 4.3 percent of students who smoked came from homes where neither parent smoked.
“The survey clearly shows that parents do play a major part in teenagers not taking up smoking.
“If you are a parent who is worried about your child taking up smoking, and you smoke, the best thing you could do for your child’s health and wellbeing is to quit smoking. This will drastically reduce the chances of your child taking up smoking.
“Quitting is best, but if you can’t quit, take the smoke outside”.
The ASH survey has been held annually since 1997. This year 32,761 Year 10 students were surveyed.