Tūhura Otago Museum has taken educating the next generation about the dangers of smoking and vaping into its own hands.
It comes after the Government announced plans to repeal the 2022 smoke-free legislation.
It may look a bit icky but the pig lungs at the museum are the star attraction, according to front of house operations officer Christine Wierda.
"We've got one set that shows a very healthy set of lungs that you can inflate easily and then we've got a treated set that are made to simulate smoking lungs," she said.
People can even see two tumours.
It's a sobering side effect of smoking and it's a message that Tūhura Otago Museum has taken upon itself to share in their new Smoke Free exhibition.
"We thought we were going to display the past, present and hopefully a really hopeful future for a tobacco-free Aotearoa," Wierda told Newshub.
But that future had to be altered when the Government announced plans to axe anti-smoking laws introduced by the previous Labour Government in 2022.
"It's just incredibly disappointing to see that a government" is not making evidence-based decisions, said University of Otago public health Professor Janet Hoek.
The exhibition also highlights how tobacco companies advertise.
"It encourages young people to reflect on the strategies that tobacco companies use to make smoking so popular and to consider how they're using the same strategies to increase the uptake of vaping," Prof Hoek told Newshub.
"Then they're able to be more resistant to those strategies."
As New Zealand makes headlines for backpedaling on world leading legislation, the UK has just announced a ban on disposable vapes hoping to deter young people.
And the Australian Border Force has seized more than 13 tonnes of disposable vapes in Adelaide, 30 days after the ban came into effect.
Whilst Aotearoa has restrictions, Prof Hoek said New Zealand could follow suit and ban disposable vapes too.
"Getting rid of these particular vapes would benefit young people and bring no disadvantage to people who smoke, who need re-fillable, longer-term use devices," she told Newshub.
Four years ago, about 2.4 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds were vaping every day. In the most recent survey, that shot up to more than 15 percent.
