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
May 23, 2018 by nzherald.co.nz
Ban cigarette sales by 2025 and encourage vaping to hit smokefree goal, MPs told
The Government will have to ban the sale of cigarettes if it wants to reach its goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025, MPs have been told.
Public health advocates and academics also said the Government needs to more aggressively encourage less harmful alternatives like vaping and e-cigarettes to help people who have failed to quit smoking tobacco. [...] Hapai Te Hauora chief executive Lance Norman said there was no way the target would be reached on existing settings.
May 17, 2018 by vapingpost.com
NZ: Vaping Products Can be Lawfully Imported, Sold and Distributed
New Zealand’s Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner, said that despite the fact that scientific research pertaining to vaping products is still being developed, “there’s a general consensus that vaping is much less harmful than smoking”.
“The Government is taking a cautious approach by aligning the regulations around vaping with those for cigarettes. This ensures cigarette smokers have access to a lower-risk alternative while we continue to discourage people from smoking [...]
May 14, 2018 by scoop.co.nz
Vaping regulation: Risk-proportionate
The Ministry of Health are making moves to regulate vapes, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. This is supported by Hāpai Te Hauora who hopes that the Ministry do their best to provide effective and sustainable regulation. "Regulation is an important aspect of harm minimisation" says Hāpai CEO Lance Norman, "as it ensures products undergo robust quality testing that informs consumers of their associated health risks if any".
April 12, 2018 by theguardian.com
E-cigarettes: NSW bans vaping in public places with $550 fine for offenders
Smokers of e-cigarettes could be fined up to $550 if caught vaping in public spaces or on public transport across New South Wales.
The ban will come into effect in July after state parliament passed new laws on Wednesday night.
“Put simply, where you are not allowed to smoke cigarettes, you now cannot vape either,” the health minister, Brad Hazzard, said in a statement on Thursday.
April 11, 2018 by vapingpost.com
Anti-Smoking Groups Need to Embrace E-cigs for Harm Reduction
In March 2017, [...] Nicky Wagner had said that e-cigarettes would be legalized and that New Zealand was adopting a low risk approach since scientific evidence about the safety of e-cigarettes is still being developed. However, a year later, no formal action has yet been taken to initiate the legalization process. [...] Marewa Glover is pointing out that this makes it impossible for government-funded health services to suggest the devices for smoking cessation, [...]
April 11, 2018 by odt.co.nz
Call to stop vaping in smokefree areas
The Cancer Society wants vaping prohibited in smokefree parts of Dunedin, saying e-cigarettes do not send the right message.
The suggestion came from Sophie Carty, the health promotion and advocacy manager for the Cancer Society's Otago and Southland branches, in a submission on the Dunedin City Council's 10-year plan yesterday. [...] smokefree areas of Dunedin should also be free of vaping and e-cigarettes, to protect people from "smoking behaviour''. [...]
April 09, 2018 by scoop.co.nz
Stop smoking services called upon to support vaping
Government funded stop smoking services will keep losing customers if they refuse to help people who want to try vaping, new research has found. The services are in a bind however because the legality of selling nicotine vaping products in New Zealand remains in doubt.
The previous National-led Government claimed nicotine vaping products could not be legally imported and sold in New Zealand, but late last year they promised new regulations [...]
February 01, 2018 by nzherald.co.nz
New Zealand survey finds stopping smoking main reason to start vaping
A survey of New Zealand vapers has found most people started smoking e-cigarettes to quit smoking - and for the majority, it worked.
The online survey, led by Dr Penny Truman from Massey University in 2016, recruited 218 people through vaping and smoking-cessation networks.
Almost all had been smokers, but three quarters no longer smoked, and the remainder significantly reduced their tobacco use. [...]
January 26, 2018 by scoop.co.nz
Tobacco companies resist excise tax increase
Tobacco companies resist excise tax increase and refuse to pass on increased costs
The excise tax on tobacco products increased on January 1 2018, but the increase hasn't been passed on to all retail products. New Zealand's largest Māori Public Health organisation, Hāpai Te Hauora, is concerned that this will limit the effectiveness of the tax increase to reduce smoking rates, and that tobacco companies should be forced to increase the prices of their products [...]
January 08, 2018 by vapingpost.com
New Zealand liberalisation faces delays, while bans and taxes continue to spread
Faced with exploding crime and a stagnant smoking rate, the New Zealand government is under increasing pressure to follow through on its promise to legalise nicotine-containing vapour products. However, the new government has been accused of dragging its feet over the move. One of the big stories of last year was the NZ government’s announcement that it planned to end the ban on nicotine liquids [...]
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