Vaping is a serious problem within teenagers and young adults, causing severe harm to many within that community. This impacts everyone within that age bracket - one in three teenagers vape, or is friends with someone who vapes. Vaping was initially invented as a harm reduction tool for people who smoke traditional cigarettes. The idea of vapes was to deliver nicotine without the risk of lung disease and cancer as created by traditional cigarettes, but instead of helping these adult smokers, it quickly became quite popular among teenagers or the younger generation who have never smoked before, which makes it a very addictive and harmful practice.  According to the 2023/24 New Zealand Health Survey, around 26.5% of young adults aged 18-24 vape daily, while 10% of 15-17-year-olds vape daily. The main reason why these percentages are so high is the fact that vapes are so easily accessible. In 2023, there were over 1,300 specialist vape stores nationwide, and with the rising popularity of e-cigarettes, we predict that the number has risen well over 2000 by now. Our main goal is to make vape products and e-cigarettes available by prescription only which would make the availability of these products more harder especially for the younger generations. This controlled environment would also help us minimise nicotine addiction, preventing potential lung disease and other organ decay. The specific issue of vaping amongst teenagers and young adults is the severe lack of vape retailers ID-ing students and young people, even when they’re in uniform. An anonymous survey conducted in a high school in Hamilton dictated that, out of 28 vapers, only three participants were asked for their ID every time they bought a vape - twenty-five participants admitted that the vape stores never ID’d them, despite most being under the age of eighteen. We realise that this is a giant issue inside our country, and we are determined to change it. Nicotine and tobacco is an extremely profitable market in New Zealand, so much so that our government is willing to potentially destroy the health of teenagers and children in order to make that money. This is not a worthy use of our government funds, and we believe that smokefree 2025 should have gone ahead as planned, yet burnt-out vapes and cigarette butts still line our streets. By making vapes a prescription-based service, we are increasing the number of steps needed to take in order to obtain a vape, leading to reduced waste, less risk of nicotine addiction in children and teenagers, and increased lung health for all parties involved. As we say, smokers will be able to access life-saving quitting interventions, and teenagers won’t be able to easily buy and become addicted to vaping.  It is so important to make vapes as difficult to access by young people not yet been introduced to nicotine, and to prove that, we need to hear your voice, as members of the public, to change the policies surrounding easy-access vapes.