Media Release 19 November 2025

Responding to the latest smoking and vaping data from the New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) chair Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole said, “Today we’ve seen daily smoking rates plateau at 6.8%. in New Zealand.

“New Zealand has achieved one of the steepest declines in smoking ever documented. The goal of Smokefree 2025 led to our substantial reductions in smoking rates. Today New Zealand is world leading compared to similar countries.

“A single year of no change overall does not undo a decade of extraordinary progress. This is the predictable ‘endgame’ pattern we see when smoking prevalence reaches these very low levels and the remaining people who smoke need extra help to quit.”

“Progress for Māori and Pacific communities remains exceptional. Māori daily smoking has fallen from 37.7 percent to 15.0%, and Pacific smoking has dropped from 22.6 percent to 10.3%, among the largest reductions recorded internationally for Indigenous and minority populations.

“The repeal of the 2022 legislation is not responsible for these short-term trends,” says Beaglehole. “It is irresponsible to attribute a plateau to legislation that never took effect.

“The real issue now is misinformation and confusion, which discourage smokers from switching to much less harmful alternatives.”

“New Zealand’s next steps are clear: strengthen Māori and Pacific-led cessation services, provide clear communication about the relative risks of nicotine products, and ensure adults who smoke have practical access to effective alternatives,” said Beaglehole.

Notes:
ASH is a completely independent NGO and does not receive any funding or support from the tobacco, vaping or medicinal nicotine industries.

The Cochrane Library review found high certainty evidence that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months using nicotine e-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’, than using nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and gums. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation - Lindson, N - 2025 | Cochrane Library