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Tag: New Zealand

  • New Zealand Study Says Vape Not Helping End Smoking

    New Zealand Study Says Vape Not Helping End Smoking

    Health researchers in New Zealand examining the long-running Year 10s smoking study say the e-cigarette companies are wrong: vaping is not displacing smoking among young people. Researchers from the University of Auckland, Australia’s Cancer Council New South Wales and the University of Sydney’s Daffodil Center, looked at vaping and smoking trends among New Zealand adolescents.

    Published last Friday (March 21), the study analyzed 25 years of data, from 1999 to 2023, examining the potential impact of vaping on smoking trends among nearly 700,000 students aged 14 to 15 years old.

    Researchers expected to see a decline in smoking after vapes were introduced, but University of Auckland research fellow Dr. Lucy Hardie said that while youth smoking rates in New Zealand were declining steeply before vapes came on the scene in 2010, that progress has slowed.

     “What we found instead was that actually the rates of decline slowed, rather than speed up,” Hardie said. “For us, this means that potentially, young people are experimenting more, rather than less, with the advent of vaping.

     “That might be down to things like vaping being more socially acceptable, in this younger age group, and so it may not be such a leap to then start experimenting with cigarettes as well.”

    In 2023, approximately 12.6 percent of 14 to 15-year-old students in New Zealand had ever smoked, nearly double the 6.6 percent predicted in the pre-vaping era. Similarly, in 2023, around 3 percent of Year 10 students were smoking regularly, but this rate would have been just 1.8 percent had it followed its pre-vaping trend.

    The research contradicts an earlier and oft-quoted study from 2020 that suggested vaping might be displacing smoking among New Zealand youth. The new study uses the same data but drew on a much wider time period, Hardie said.

    The researchers found that vaping may have actually slowed New Zealand’s progress in preventing adolescent smoking. Meanwhile, the new research also shows the prevalence of daily vaping in New Zealand increased from 1.1 percent in 2015 to 10 percent in 2023.

  • CAPHRA Wants WHO to Embrace Consumer Voices

    CAPHRA Wants WHO to Embrace Consumer Voices

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) demanded the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) end its exclusion of consumer organizations and adopt evidence-based tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a vital public health strategy ahead of its COP11 meeting.

    CAPHRA called on COP11 delegates to grant formal observer status to consumer groups, adopt risk-proportionate regulations distinguishing safer products from cigarettes, and subject WHO FCTC policies to United Nations human rights oversight.

    “The WHO must evolve. Consumer advocates are not the enemy—they’re the bridge to pragmatic solutions and essential partners in reducing smoking-related harm,” said Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA Executive Coordinator. “COP11 must prioritize transparency and science over ideology. Lives hang in the balance.”

    CAPHRA pointed to New Zealand’s progressive vaping policies that have helped the adult smoking rate drop below 6% in 2024 and Japan’s adoption of heated tobacco products have also driven smoking rates to record lows. Conversely, Australia’s prohibitionist approach has fueled a thriving black market for unregulated vaping products, exposing consumers to greater risks.

    “The WHO’s refusal to engage with consumer groups—those most directly affected by its policies—undermines global public health,” said Loucas. “By silencing consumer voices and dismissing safer alternatives, they prioritize ideology over science, costing lives.”

  • GSTHR Report Finds Vapes Help Smokers Quit

    GSTHR Report Finds Vapes Help Smokers Quit

    The latest Briefing Paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR), a project from public health agency Knowledge·Action·Change (KAC), focuses on Aotearoa New Zealand’s remarkable journey towards “smokefree” status.

    “Pro-consumer laws and an endorsement for vaping: why smoking is disappearing in Aotearoa New Zealand” tells the story of the country’s rapid and growing embrace of vaping, which overtook smoking in 2022, and provides another vital case study showcasing the potential of tobacco harm reduction through the adoption of safer nicotine products (SNP), following recent GSTHR Briefing Papers on Japan and the United Kingdom. This country profile also features in The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2024: A Situation Report published last month.

    While Aotearoa, New Zealand, had been experiencing falling smoking rates for the last 50 years, this decline gathered pace following the widespread adoption and, in 2018, the legalization of nicotine vaping products. Thanks to the Government’s step change in vaping policy, Aotearoa New Zealand now has a considerable chance of reaching its “Smokefree 2025” goal, a designation indicating that smoking prevalence has been reduced to below 5%.

    David MacKintosh, a director for KAC, said the Briefing Paper explores the rapid trajectory of Aotearoa New Zealand’s progress in reducing smoking, the approaches that have underpinned this, and the lessons that can be learned.

    “By embracing vaping as a tool for smoking cessation, policymakers are accelerating the transition away from cigarettes and their associated harms,” he said. “More needs to be done in addressing high smoking rates in some groups, notably among Māori communities, which contributes significantly to health disparities in the country. However, the experiences and success of Aotearoa New Zealand provide food for thought for many other countries seeking to tackle smoking.”

    This would be a remarkable achievement given the smoking rate in 1976 was 40% for men and 32% for women. This has now fallen to the point where only 8.3% of adults smoked in 2023. In the same year 11.9% of adults vaped in the country, up from 1.4% in 2016. But while the overall smoking figures are low, they mask much higher rates within some communities. Daily smoking prevalence for Maori, who make up 16% of the country’s population, was 17.1% in 2022/2023, which is in stark contrast to the 6.1% rate for people of European descent.

    Alongside regulatory oversight of vaping products to ensure quality and safety, a key factor has been the proactive encouragement of vaping as a tool for smoking cessation by the Government. The Ministry of Health has provided official resources for people looking to stop smoking with the help of vaping. Smokefree New Zealand, a smoking cessation resource run by the country’s publicly funded healthcare service Health New Zealand, has stated that “using vaping products is a legitimate option for those people who are trying to quit smoking”.

    Through the Vaping Facts website, the Ministry of Health of New Zealand and Health New Zealand have also emphasized the Cochrane Review’s position that vaping is significantly safer than smoking.

    Aotearoa New Zealand’s attitude to vaping is in direct contrast to its neighbor Australia, which has heavily restricted the availability of SNP by making nicotine available only in pharmacies. Australia has sought to reduce significantly the availability of safer nicotine products, which has led to the proliferation of a thriving black market in the absence of a legal market. Meanwhile, with its broadly supportive public health messaging, Aotearoa New Zealand has enabled consumers to make positive changes in their own volition, enabling them to switch from smoking to safer products.

    These differences in approach have resulted in a marked difference in smoking rates between the two countries, with Australia’s smoking prevalence plateaued in recent years after many years of steady decline. Indeed, the current smoking prevalence for Australians aged 14 and over has only fallen slightly in the last five years, from 12.8% in 2018 to 11.8% in 2023.

    It should be noted that Aotearoa New Zealand’s attitude towards vaping is not mirrored for all SNP. While heated tobacco products are also legal, the sale of both snus and nicotine pouches is banned. Still, as this Briefing Paper shows, Government and public health organizations in Aotearoa, New Zealand, working with consumers, have highlighted the crucial role that vaping can play in reducing smoking.

    The country has demonstrated its ability to enact pro-consumer legislation effectively, and its consistent endorsement of some safer nicotine products has been a key component of its stop-smoking strategy. Central to this has been consumers, who have established a demand for safer products and proven to the Government that these products can and will exist despite initial legislative opposition.

  • Activists Celebrate Declining Smoking Rates

    Activists Celebrate Declining Smoking Rates

    Photo: sezerozger

    New Zealand has achieved its Smoke-Free 2025 goal ahead of schedule, with smoking rates plummeting to unprecedented lows, according to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

    Data from the most recent New Zealand Health Survey reveals that smoking rates have fallen dramatically, particularly among youth. The decline has been so significant that statisticians now struggle to accurately measure the small proportion of young smokers due to sample size limitations, says the CAPHRA, which attributes the success to New Zealand’s accommodation of new nicotine products as tools to help nicotine users transition away from cigarettes.

    “New Zealand’s success in reducing smoking rates is a testament to the country’s progressive approach to tobacco harm reduction,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the CAPHRA. “By embracing vaping and other less harmful alternatives, we’ve seen smoking rates drop from 11.9 percent in 2020 to an astounding 6.8 percent in 2023. This is a clear indication that our strategy is working.”

    Our success story should be a wake-up call for countries like Australia who are still clinging to prohibitionist policies.

    Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator, CAPHRA

    The success is particularly notable among young people, with youth smoking rates reaching historic lows. “The fact that we’re having difficulty measuring youth smoking rates due to their minuscule prevalence is a cause for celebration,” Loucas added. “It’s a clear sign that we’re winning the battle against smoking-related harm.”

    Despite this undeniable success, some in the tobacco control and public health sectors seem reluctant to acknowledge the effectiveness of New Zealand’s approach, according to the CAPHRA.

    “It’s perplexing that some individuals in tobacco control can’t seem to accept our successful strategy,” said Loucas. “We’ve achieved what many thought impossible, yet instead of celebrating, they’re focusing on potential issues with vaping. We need to recognize this victory and continue supporting policies that have proven effective in reducing smoking rates.”

    The CAPHRA urges policymakers and health advocates worldwide to look to New Zealand as a model for successful tobacco harm reduction. The organization emphasizes the importance of embracing evidence-based approaches that include a range of less harmful alternatives to smoking.

    “Our success story should be a wake-up call for countries like Australia who are still clinging to prohibitionist policies,” said Loucas. “It’s time to put aside preconceived notions and focus on what works—a pragmatic harm reduction approach that prioritizes public health over ideology.”

  • Battery Law Forces IQOS from Kiwi Store Shelves

    Battery Law Forces IQOS from Kiwi Store Shelves

    Photo: vfhnb12

    Philip Morris International pulled its IQOS tobacco heating device from New Zealand store shelves after a new law took effect requiring vaping devices to have removable batteries, reports RNZ. Tobacco heating products (THPs) are classified as e-cigarettes in New Zealand.

    RNZ says it has seen PMI emails sent to suppliers saying IOQS is “unavailable for purchase due to a regulatory change on 1 October 2024 affecting vaping devices.” In a statement, the multinational said it always complies with all necessary regulations, including on electronic devices.

    IQOS consumables, known as Heatsticks, remain available for sale in New Zealand.

    The news follows controversy about Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s July announcement of a 50 percent cut to THP excise taxes—a move that critics say benefits only PMI, which is the sole supplier of the products in New Zealand.  

    Costello argues the tax cut will encourage smokers to switch to THPs, which are believed to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes. Costello’s plan is to have more than 7,000 people switch to THPs, which she sees as a tool to achieve New Zealand’s smoking reduction targets.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has backed Costello, telling RNZ the excise tax cut plan was a 12 month trial to “see how it goes” with HTPs lowering smoking rates.

    Health advocates have accused the ruling coalition of caving to pressure from tobacco lobbyists. In late 2023, the government scrapped the country’s controversial generational tobacco ban, which would have prohibited tobacco products for people born after 2009.

    In a briefing published Jan. 31 by the Public Health Communications Center, three University of Otago public health academics highlight links between government members of parliament and the tobacco industry.

  • PMI Biggest Beneficiary of HTP Tax Cuts: Critics

    PMI Biggest Beneficiary of HTP Tax Cuts: Critics

    Image: Comugnero Silvana

    Philip Morris International would be the biggest beneficiary of New Zealand’s tax cuts for heated-tobacco products (HTPs), critics told Associate Health Minister Casey Costello, according to RNZ.

    In July, Costello announced a 50 percent cut to HTP excise taxes, arguing that doing so would encourage cigarette smokers to migrate to less unhealthy nicotine products.

    The government of New Zealand will set aside NZD216 million ($127.39 million) to pay for the tax reductions.  

    According to critics, the only commercial beneficiary of the tobacco tax cuts is PMI, which is the sole supplier of HTPs in New Zealand.

    In briefings to Costello, treasury officials questioned whether PMI would pass on the excise cut to consumers given its dominance in the market, according to documents obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act.

    “It may be that the reduction in excise taxes is not passed through to consumers in price reductions but rather is retained by the sole importer,” the officials warned.

    In response to questions about her motivations, Costello stated that she had no connections to the tobacco business. “It’s completely wrong to suggest that the tobacco industry has anything to do with these policies, which are aimed at helping people quit smoking,” she was quoted as saying.

    Costello has repeatedly said the excise tax cut for HTPs is designed to lower smoking rates by offering alternatives for people struggling to quit. She has claimed that “HTPs have a similar risk profile to vapes.”

    Treasury officials reportedly cited evidence that HTPs are more harmful than vaping.

  • New Zealand Cracks Down on Illegal Nicotine Sales

    New Zealand Cracks Down on Illegal Nicotine Sales

    Image: mehaniq41

    New Zealand has started sentencing for repeat violators of its cigarette and vape laws, according to the ministry of health.

    Christchurch tobacco retailer Canteros received a fine of NZD28,000 for eight breaches of the Smoke-free Environments and Regulated Products Act. The violations related to the selling, labeling and advertising of cigars.

    The owner and an employee of Discount Specialist were fined a total of NZD8,000 for repeatedly selling single cigarettes and allowing tobacco products to be visible to the public inside the store.

    While infringement notices with fees of NZD500 are routinely issued for sales of regulated products to minors, this chain of prosecutions is among the strongest action to be taken against illegal vape and cigarette sales to date.

    In August, a Christchurch dairy owner was fined NZD56,000 under the act.

    “A significant majority of retailers comply with the law and do not sell restricted products to young people, though it’s disappointing to see some retailers fail to abide by the law and sell cigarettes or vapes to children and young people,” said Jo Pugh, compliance manager at the national public health service.

    “This compliance work is a high priority for the health agencies. We will continue to monitor and identify retailers who are not complying with the law.”

  • New Zealand Urged to Rethink Disposables Ban

    New Zealand Urged to Rethink Disposables Ban

    Photo: Evgeniy Vershinin

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is urging New Zealand to reconsider its proposed vaping regulations, which include a ban on closed systems, tighter limits on displays in retail shops and new flavor restrictions.

    “This amendment will make it more difficult for adults who smoke to access vaping products, potentially pushing them back to smoking,” said CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas. “It’s a step backward in our journey toward a smoke-free New Zealand.”

    The CAPHRA submission highlights several concerns. According to the advocacy group, the ban disproportionately affects older adults and those with dexterity issues who rely on simpler closed systems. The proposed display restrictions, says CAPHRA, may deter smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives. Meanwhile, the focus on further display restrictions in retail shops ignores the real issue of social supply to youth, according to the organization, while flavor restrictions could hinder successful smoking cessation efforts.

    “Consumers have the right to make informed choices about their health. This amendment proposes to restrict consumer autonomy and may hinder harm reduction efforts,” said Loucas. 

    “Even the Ministry of Health suggested that the regulations, as they are, are fit for purpose, and the ASH Year 10 survey has shown that youth vaping has declined from the peak a couple of years ago.

    “CAPHRA calls for a more balanced approach, focusing on education and transparent risk communication. By highlighting the facts about vaping, who it is for and what it is, we can combat misinformation and support public health,” said Loucas.

  • Activists Decry Kiwi Disposables Ban

    Activists Decry Kiwi Disposables Ban

    Photo: YarikL

    Vaping activists have expressed concern about New Zealand’s decision to ban disposable e-cigarettes.

    The New Zealand Ministry of Health announced the ban with the intention of reducing adolescent vaping. The new regulations prohibit the manufacture and sale of all non-rechargeable and non-refillable vapes, including single-use containers such as pre-filled tanks, pods and cartridges.

    The World Vapers Alliance (WVA) warned that the ban could undermine New Zealand’s progress in reducing smoking rates.

    “Preventing teenagers from using nicotine products is essential, and strict age regulations should be enforced to achieve this goal,” said WVA Policy Manager Alberto Gómez Hernández in a statement.

    “However, banning disposable vapes and various pod systems for adult consumers will have negative public health implications and jeopardize the progress towards a smoke-free society achieved in the last decade. This approach fails to recognize the vital role disposable vaping products play in helping smokers transition away from cigarettes.”

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) expressed similar reservations. “We understand and support the government’s intent to curb youth vaping,” said CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas.

    “However, the proposed ban on disposable vaping products, including prefilled tanks, pods and cartridges, will create substantial barriers for adults who smoke and older vapers. Many of these individuals rely on simpler, disposable products due to difficulties with dexterity and the complexities of refillable devices. This ban could force them back to smoking cigarettes, which is counterproductive to the Smokefree 2025 goal.”

  • New Zealand Reserves Funds for HTP Tax Cut

    New Zealand Reserves Funds for HTP Tax Cut

    Photo: Rochu_2008

    The government of New Zealand will set aside NZD216 million ($127.39 million) to pay for tax cuts on heated tobacco products (HTPs), reports Radio New Zealand.

    Earlier this month, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced a 50 percent cut to HTP excise taxes, arguing that doing so would encourage cigarette smokers to migrate to less unhealthy nicotine products.

    A paper released on the health ministry’s website shows the Cabinet agreed in May to set aside NZD216 million to cover the estimated lost revenue.

    Philip Morris International, which owns the bestselling HTP product in New Zealand, has long argued that tax levels should reflect the relative risk levels of tobacco products.

    However, the Cabinet paper noted it was unclear whether the tax break would be passed on to consumers due to the monopolistic nature of the market.

    Costello said that she expected the industry to reduce the cost of its heating products. “I’m expecting the excise reduction to pass to consumers; this is what we were advised would happen by officials and it is something we will also be monitoring,” she was quoted as saying.

    New Zealand tax authorities collected NZD3.62 million in 2022 and NZD5.97 million in 2023 from HTPs.

    Earlier this year Costello scrapped laws that would have slashed the number of tobacco retailers, removed 95 percent of the nicotine from cigarettes and aimed to create a smoke-free generation by banning sales to those born after 2009.

    Critics have expressed concern about links between the tobacco industry and Costello’s New Zealand First party. Two senior corporate communication positions at PMI are held by people who previously held senior roles in the New Zealand First.