Research Team
Isaac Waterman (GeoHealth Lab intern – UoC)
Lukáš Marek (GRI – UoC)
Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll (FoH – UoC)
Jalal Mohammed (FoH – UoC)
Michael Epton (FoH – UoC)
Matt Hobbs (FoH – UoC)
Funding:
HRC Emerging Researcher
Duration of Project
2023-2024
Summary:
Vaping is a relatively new phenomenon that was initially hailed as a promising alternative to smoking. However, the number of non-smokers who have started vaping is increasing. A recent study found that 1.1 million New Zealanders have tried vaping which is about 27% of the population. Another study found that 26% of students had vaped in the past week.
We wanted to understand the spatial distribution of vape stores in Aotearoa New Zealand; where the stores are and how they change over time. We used the Specialist Vape Retailer register to find the addresses of all of the vape stores in New Zealand. We then used the New Zealand Deprivation Index to see if there is a link between the location of vape stores and area-level deprivation. Using census data, we were also able to look at the demographics of people around vape stores. Finally, we wanted to understand how accessible vape stores are to young people by analysing how many vape stores are around schools.
The interactive map can be visited here:
Outputs:
Waterman, I., Marek, L., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Mohammed, J., Epton, M. and Hobbs, M. Smoked Out: The Spatial Variation of Vape Retailer Provision in New Zealand. The Fourth Spatial Data Science Symposium. UoC, Christchurch, September 5, 2023. Poster.
Waterman, I., Marek, L., Ahuriri-Driscoll A., Mohammed, J., Epton, M. and Hobbs, M. (2023). Investigating the spatial and temporal variation of vape retailer provision in New Zealand: a cross-sectional and nationwide study. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/qcegz. (Journal Article)
