23 July 2021
Francis Phan
[FYI request #16015 email]
Tēnā koe Francis,
Thank you for your email of 9 July 2021 to the Ministry of Education, requesting the following
information:
1. The percentage of students in high school that vape.
If it is feasible, I am requesting this piece of statistics banded into schools of different
deciles (i.e. the percentage of students that vape in Decile 10 schools, Decile 9 schools
etc.)
2. The percentage of high school students who vape that are banded into different
ethnicities (i.e. the percentage of Māori high school students who vape, and the
percentage of Pakeha, Asian and Pasifika high school students who vape etc.)
If it is not possible to provide such data, I am instead requesting this information
categorised into two groups of Māori and non-Māori students.
3. Ministry of Education's existing strategies into tackling vaping among high school
students, if any. This includes official recommendation for the Government, if any, as
well as resources and advice for schools/kura, students, parents, and caregivers.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
You may be aware that New Zealand's schools are self-governing. As such, each school board
is responsible for their day-to-day operations, including setting health and safety policies and
procedures that ensure a safe, physical, and emotional environment for their students.
The Ministry does not collect data on the number of students who vape, and therefore, we do
not have information on the percentage of students who do so. As such, I am refusing this part
of your request under section 18(e) of the Act, as the requested information does not exist.
Educating our young people about the benefits of a smoke-free and vape-free lifestyle is
essential. T
he health and physical education learning area of
The New Zealand Curriculum
contributes to the wellbeing of students beyond the classroom, particularly when it is supported
by a whole of school approach and the school community.
The health and physical education curriculum learning area includes:
• drug education, directly as part of the mental health and body care and physical safety
areas of learning
• dimensions of wellbeing: Taha tinana (physical wellbeing), taka hinengaro (mental and
emotional wellbeing), taha whānau (social wellbeing), and taha wairua (spiritual
wellbeing). Each of these is highly relevant to drug education, including the importance
of being smoke-free
OIA: 1265699
National Office, Mātauranga House, 33 Bowen Street, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140. Phone: +64 4 463 8000 Fax: +64 4 463 8001
education.govt.nz
• achievement objectives within four strands, three of which are especially relevant to
drug education, including the importance of being smoke-free
• advice to schools and kura that clearly states the health curriculum makes a significant
contribution to the wellbeing of students beyond the classroom, and that it must be
supported by school policies and procedures and by the actions of all people in the
school communities.
Classroom education is also supported by agencies such as t
he Ministry of Health, th
e Health
Promotion Agency and Smokefree NZ who each have a wide range of resources available to
help raise the awareness and understanding of young people and their communities about the
risks of vaping.
You may be interested to know, th
e ‘Don’t Get Sucked In’ website includes information and
resources on vaping to encourage teens not to try vaping (or smoking).
As of 11 November 2020, all schools, kura, early learning services and kōhanga reo are smoke
and vape free both indoors and out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From 11 May 2021,
under
the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020,
all schools, kōhanga reo, ECEs and kura must, in addition to the existing requirement to
display ‘no smoking’ notices, be required to display 'no vaping' notices. Schools, kōhanga reo,
ECEs and kura should have been sent (free of charge) no vaping/smoke-free stickers from
Health Promotion Agency Smokefree between 30 April and 3 May 2021 to meet this legislative
requirement
.
We have also updated our
Education website promoting healthy lifestyles page that includes
a section on smoke-free school and early learning centres.
Please note, the Ministry now proactively publishes OIA responses on our website. As such,
we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and contact
details wil be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review this
decision. You can do this by writi
ng to [email address] or Office of the
Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Jann Marshall
Tumu Te Hāpai ō Rāngai
Acting Deputy Secretary
Sector Enablement and Support
education.govt.nz
Document Outline
- The request and due date
- Background
- Proposed response
- Reason for refusal
- Consultation
