Vape use is increasing, particularly among young people who have never been cigarette smokers. Stealth vaping, that is, discrete use in places where it is prohibited, is also reported to be increasing. Regular vape use is high among those who identify as Māori, with the Tobacco Industry reported to be targeting Indigenous communities, thus continuing long-running harmful, colonial practices.
This qualitative study, using group interviews within a kaupapa Māori framework, explored stealth vaping with 19 young adults, of whom 18 identified as Māori in the Indigenous context in New Zealand.
The results showed that hiding vape use is enhanced by the features of devices, while the nicotine content drives the need to vape nearly anywhere.
The tobacco and nicotine endgame approach is favored by Māori leaders, meaning stricter regulation on vaping devices alone does not adequately protect young people. Instead, stronger measures must be implemented to reduce the appeal of vaping. Vaping does not align with Māori worldviews. Addiction and their easy concealment sustain their use, highlighting the tension between alternative nicotine products that benefit the Tobacco Industry, with the goals of Māori and other Indigenous peoples to eradicate nicotine entirely.
The study results reinforce that priority must be given to culturally led and culturally safe regulatory and policy changes and advocacy for both smoke- and vape-free environments. Regulating the features of devices to negate their stealth use, as their invisibility was facilitated by their manipulability, should enable the existing smoke-free environment spaces to again deter vape use. Advocates must understand Māori history and context to extend the spaces where the strength that comes from being Māori will overcome the need to vape.