Tobacco sales in New Zealand fell by more than 20% year over year in 2025, with the volume sold now less than half its level a decade ago, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said.
Annual tobacco returns show the volume of tobacco sold has fallen by two-thirds since 2010, while cigarette sales per capita have dropped nearly 80%, trends that correspond with declining smoking rates. Costello said, however, that the sharper decline in legal tobacco sales in recent years could partly reflect increased availability of black-market cigarettes rather than an equivalent decline in smoking.
The government is focusing on disrupting illegal tobacco sales, preventing youth smoking, and helping smokers quit. Costello also said that measures introduced a year ago to ban disposable vapes, restrict product displays, and increase penalties for underage tobacco and vape sales have been accompanied by increased enforcement activity.
