An anti-vaping panel discussion led by Te Pūkenga, EIT, Associate Professor Anita Jagroop-Dearing will be one of the highlights at the Family Health Fair on 22 June at The Blyth Performing Arts Centre. 

The annual Family Health Fair is organised by the Health Research Foundation – Hawke’s Bay and brings together over 10 different partners in holistic health and  wellness, science and education, for a day of free activities.  

Anita Jagroop-Dearing, who will lead the anti-vaping panel, is a member of the Stop Adolescent Vaping E-Cigarettes (S.A.V.E.) group, which was formed in March 2020 as a multidisciplinary collective of Hawke’s Bay professionals. This  feeds into a wider youth anti-vaping national network.

“We are all alarmed by the high levels of youth vaping,” she says, “and the problem seems to be out of control with increased school absenteeism, inability to concentrate on school lessons due to nicotine addiction, respiratory and mental health problems. We are concerned about the creation of this new generation of nicotine-dependent youth who are also graduating to cigarette smoking.”

Jagroop-Dearing was a medical scientist at UCL teaching hospital in London, before joining EIT. She and her team are currently running research, supported by the Health Research Foundation and Te Pūkenga, EIT, to address the harms of youth vaping. This work focuses on the decision-making around vaping and identifying health-knowledge gaps so that anti-vaping educational tools can be developed.  

Parents and those interested in the anti-vaping research can submit questions prior to the Health Fair here: https://hrf.co.nz/family-health-fair-vaping-panel-questions/

Other activities at the Fair include measuring your body mass composition, enjoying holistic health massages, an art exhibition themed around mental health (including the option to bid for the art) and live music performances. 

The Health Research Foundation has been around for 62 years – previously under the name Hawke’s Bay Medical Research Foundation. With its new name and local, holistic view on health, it invites people to learn more about the wonderful work done by local researchers and to get involved or donate where they can: https://hrf.co.nz/

See: https://hrf.co.nz/family-health-fair/ and scroll to the bottom of the page to secure tickets to the Family Health Fair.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air