WELLINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A new website, vapingfacts.health.nz, was launched on Sunday by Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa to provide New Zealanders with a source of clear and credible information about vaping as a way to stop smoking.

"In New Zealand, 5,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses. While vaping products are not harmless to health, they are much less harmful than smoking," Salesa said in a statement.

This website will provide a centralized and credible source of information, with facts and advice on vaping in New Zealand, she said. "It is designed for adults who smoke ... as well as people with questions about what vaping is and how it is different from smoking."

The benefits of a smoker switching to vaping include reducing the risks to their health and the health of their children, reducing the likelihood that their children become smokers, and "a lot more money left in the pocket," Salesa said, adding Maori women in particular experience the highest rates of smoking.

In September, the government will roll out a targeted campaign to raise awareness of vaping as a way to stop smoking, with Maori women being the focus of this campaign due to their high smoking rate at 32.5 percent, compared with the country's total rate of 13.8 percent, statistics showed. Enditem

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