Smoking in New Zealand
In New Zealand, smoking is legal but subject to tobacco control regulations. Cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products and can be sold through retail outlets, including online sales and vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is allowed with a trade license. Health warnings on packaging are mandatory, the legal minimum age for purchase is 18 years, and smoking in public places is subject to legal restrictions. A comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising is also in place. Cigarettes in New Zealand are taxed at a total rate of 82.78%, including an excise component of 69.74%. Data show that in 2024, the number of current smokers was recorded to be approximately 364,000 in New Zealand, corresponding to an adult smoking prevalence of 8.6%. In the same year, current smoking prevalence was slightly higher among males (9.7%) than among females (7.7%). In 2022, this prevalence was recorded to be 11.4%. In 2023, the adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence was reported to be 7.7%, with approximately 362,845 daily smokers. In 2021, smoking led to approximately 3,580 deaths in New Zealand, including 2,085 deaths among males and 1,495 deaths among females. In other words, tobacco smoking accounted for 10.38% of all deaths in the country in 2021, including11.78% of all male deaths and 8.9% of all female deaths.
Read articles from New Zealand
December 13, 2023 by nzherald.co.nz
Snuff and chewing tobacco could be legalised to help smokers quit - but researchers are sceptical about the benefits
Snuff and smokeless tobacco are being considered as tools to help smokers quit under the new Government’s smokefree plans. And while those products have contributed to reduced smoking rates overseas, New Zealand experts on tobacco control are sceptical about whether they would be successful here. The National-led Government has promised to scrap the previous government’s anti-smoking laws, prompting widespread condemnation from the healthcare sector and generating global headlines.
December 06, 2023 by filtermag.org
New Zealand Splits Opinion by Scrapping Smoking Ban
New Zealand’s new coalition government plans to abandon the country’s world-first policy of an incremental smoking ban, in order to fund tax cuts. Just as the original policy divided expert opinion, so has news of its repeal. [...] Proponents said that this and other measures in the package, like reducing the number of tobacco retailers by 90 percent and cutting the legal amount of nicotine in cigarettes, would help the country reach its goal of being “smokefree” (prevalence below 5 percent) by 2025. No similar restrictions were imposed on vape sales.
November 27, 2023 by bbc.com
New Zealand smoking ban: Health experts criticise new government's shock reversal
New Zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the nation's world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts. The legislation, introduced under the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, and the policy had aimed to stop young generations from picking up the habit. Health experts have strongly criticised the sudden reversal. "We are appalled and disgusted... this is an incredibly retrograde step on world-leading, absolutely excellent health measures," said Prof Richard Edwards, a tobacco control researcher and public health expert at the University of Otago.
November 24, 2023 by bloomberg.com
New Zealand’s Next Government to Scrap Law Curbing Tobacco Sales
New Zealand’s vaunted laws aimed at making the country smoke-free will be repealed by its new center-right government. Legislation banning tobacco sales to people born after 2008 will be dumped by the new administration, according to coalition agreements released Friday in Wellington. The new government, which comprises the National, ACT and New Zealand First parties, will also stop a plan to reduce in the number of retail outlets
October 19, 2023 by radio-canada.ca
The U.K. and New Zealand want to ban the next generation from smoking at any age. Should Canada follow?
Officials elsewhere want to create the first 'smoke-free generation' As some countries move toward banning the next generation from smoking, experts here say Canada should weigh whether a similar ban could work to stop youth from picking up the habit. [...] Experts who study teen smoking and vaping habits say although these smoking bans don't necessarily target vaping, a public discussion about a generational smoking ban and what that could look like in Canada is warranted. There are lots of contextual factors that come to play that we really need to consider when we are thinking about implementing something like this in Canada, said Laura Struik, [...]
October 19, 2023 by stuff.co.nz
Nicotine and cannabis vaping on the rise, according to Massey survey
The use of nicotine e-liquid vaping is increasing, a Massey University study has shown. The university released its third round of findings from its New Zealand Drugs Trends Survey which showed that while the use of no-nicotine e-liquid had decreased, nicotine e-liquid vaping was on the rise and levels of cannabis vaping were steady. [...] Dr Marta Rychert said, nicotine products were often used daily, while cannabis and no-nicotine vapes were used less frequently.
September 12, 2023 by biomedcentral.com
Effectiveness of nicotine salt vapes, cytisine, and a combination of these products, for smoking cessation in New Zealand: protocol for a three-arm, pragmatic, community-based randomised controlled trial
Combining short-acting nicotine replacement therapy with varenicline increases smoking cessation rates compared with varenicline alone, but not all people tolerate these medications or find them helpful. We aim to investigate the therapeutic potential of an analogous combination, by evaluating the effectiveness, safety, and acceptability of combining nicotine salt e-cigarettes with cytisine, compared to nicotine salt e-cigarettes or cytisine only, on smoking abstinence at six months.
September 06, 2023 by colinmendelsohn.com.au
Australia falls further behind in tobacco control every year
THE DECLINE IN SMOKING is 4-8 times slower in Australia than in New Zealand, Great Britain and the US over the last 4 years. Why? Australia has the highest cigarette prices in the world, plain packaging and extensive smokefree laws. However, Australia effectively bans the most successful quitting aid available: vaping nicotine. Vaping is readily and legally available in other western countries and is a major contributor to the accelerated decline in smoking
September 05, 2023 by rnz.co.nz
Ministry of Health admits incorrectly threatening vape retailers
The Ministry of Health has admitted it incorrectly threatened vape retailers for selling non-compliant products. In October 2022, in response to an inquiry from Fair Go, the ministry took the position that the smokefree regulations prescribed a maximum nicotine salt strength of 50mg/mL (28.5mg/mL nicotine strength) and threatened to cancel all products that did not comply. However, the regulations actually set the maximum nicotine strength limit of 50mg/mL.
August 25, 2023 by maxecig.com
New Zealand Issues Nearly 100 Infringement Notices to Offending Vape Stores Alone
(...) according to Ministry of Health data provided by the Official Information Act, fewer than 100 infringement notices have been issued to e-cigarette retailers since enforcement last year, resulting in a total of $42,900 in fines.