Tūhura Otago Museum launched the nationwide competition to mark World Smokefree Day and asked entrants to design a poster that portrayed the reality of vaping or vaping culture.
Project co-ordinator Christine Wierda said it was great to see not every New Zealander was being sucked in by the vaping industry.
"The response to the competition has been fantastic — not just in the number of entries and the fact that they’ve come from all corners of Aotearoa New Zealand — but the creativity and depth of thought that has gone into them was outstanding.
"There’s obviously a whole bunch of Kiwis that care deeply about the consequences, the rising addiction to vaping we’re witnessing."
The competition had two sections — youth (15 or under) and open.
The winner of the first section was 15-year-old Honey Johnson, of Bluff.
She was delighted and proud of the win.
"I don’t think vaping is a good thing — it’s cool that we are doing something about it now."
Honey had always been passionate about arts and she loved to do portraits.
She said she had been drawing since she was aged 4.
"I’ve done the poster because Iwanted to challenge myself.
"Usually, I do more traditional art, so I thought it would be fun to do something different."
The Bluff teenager will receive a $1000 prize and will have her posters professionally printed and toured as part of a soon-to-be-developed Te Mana o Te Hā showcase, which will tour schools and communities around the country from late this year and into next year.
A Tuhura Otago Museum spokesman said the competition was aimed at showcasing the impacts of smoking and vaping, including how the nicotine industry had actively targeted their products and brands at young people.
