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Tag: New Zealand

  • CAPHRA Urges Review of FCTC Following U.S. WHO Exit

    CAPHRA Urges Review of FCTC Following U.S. WHO Exit

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is calling on governments across the region to reassess the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) following the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO and criticism of the agency from New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. CAPHRA argues that while the FCTC formally recognizes harm reduction under Article 1(d), current policy implementation has not consistently supported reduced-risk alternatives such as vaping and nicotine pouches.

    CAPHRA representatives say restrictions on safer nicotine products risk slowing smoking decline and expanding illicit markets. The group pointed to New Zealand’s smoking rate, which has fallen to 6.8%, as evidence that regulated harm reduction strategies can accelerate public health gains. CAPHRA is also urging greater transparency in FCTC Conference of the Parties proceedings and broader engagement with independent scientists and consumer groups, arguing that future tobacco control policy should be measured by reductions in smoking prevalence and disease outcomes rather than product bans.

  • New Zealand Approves First Product to Help Quit Vaping

    New Zealand Approves First Product to Help Quit Vaping

    The New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) approved the country’s first nicotine replacement therapy product specifically indicated to help people quit vaping. Medsafe is recommending Nicorette QuickMist for vapers looking to quit, a product that has been on the market for years for cigarette smokers. Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said the approval recognizes vaping addiction as a growing issue and cited 2024 survey data showing 20% of Year 12 and 26% of Year 13 students reported vaping in the previous week. The Foundation is also calling for tighter vaping regulations, including halting new specialist vape retailers and restricting general retail sales.

  • CAPHRA Tells Aussie Senate to Look at New Zealand

    CAPHRA Tells Aussie Senate to Look at New Zealand

    In response to recent announcements across Australia about increasing enforcement in its battle against illicit tobacco and nicotine products, the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) submitted evidence to Australia’s Senate directly comparing New Zealand and the Philippines—both with regulated vaping markets and declining smoking rates—to India and Thailand, where total bans have created underground markets with zero safeguards and rampant youth access.​ 

    CAPHRA said Australia and New Zealand are taking sharply different approaches to tobacco control, with contrasting outcomes reflected in recent data. New Zealand, which allows regulated access to vaping products alongside smoking-cessation support, has reduced adult daily smoking to 6.8%, among the lowest rates globally, while youth smoking has fallen to 3.2%, down from 19.2% a decade ago. Australia, by contrast, has maintained strict prohibitions on nicotine vaping products and focused heavily on enforcement against illicit tobacco, spending about A$157 million ($105 million) on policing and regulatory measures, including appointing a national illicit tobacco coordinator. Despite these efforts, authorities estimate Australia lost A$6.7 billion ($4.5 billion) in tobacco excise revenue in 2023–24, and the illicit tobacco market is valued at roughly A$4 billion ($2.7 billion).

  • NZ Retailer Accused of Hiding Text on Website

    NZ Retailer Accused of Hiding Text on Website

    New Zealand’s largest vape retailer, Shosha, has been accused of using hidden text on its website to promote vape products in ways that may breach strict advertising rules, according to The Press. Vape-Free Kids NZ co-founders say Shosha ran Christmas promotions featuring a cartoon Santa and embedded white text on white backgrounds in product pages that is only visible to humans when highlighted, but can be read by search engines, potentially circumventing regulations that limit online product information.

    An academic expert said the hidden text can influence search rankings despite advertising bans, while the report also raises concerns about alleged discounting through free shipping offers and an international website mirroring New Zealand product descriptions. Shosha did not respond to media questions, and the Health Ministry said it is assessing the matter and continues to monitor digital advertising for possible legal breaches.

  • New Zealand’s Conflicting Awards Panned by CAPHRA

    New Zealand’s Conflicting Awards Panned by CAPHRA

    Last week, Ben Youdan of New Zealand’s Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH NZ) received the Orchid Award at the 2025 E-Cigarette Summit in the UK for promoting evidence-based public health policy and a regulated vaping approach that has led to the country’s 60% reduction in adult smoking—down to 6.8%—negligible youth smoking, declining youth vaping, and sharp reductions in smoking among Māori women. In a press release today (December 15), the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) pointed to the striking contrast in recent recognition as New Zealand’s tobacco control work was given a “Dirty Ashtray” slight in November by the WHO FCTC at COP11.

    “This shows the world is splitting into two camps: those pursuing public health outcomes, and those pursuing pharmaceutical and billionaire interests,” said CAPHRA executive coordinator of Nancy Loucas. “This juxtaposition is perfect. The FCTC punishes New Zealand for achieving 6.8% smoking rates through harm reduction. Meanwhile, international public health leaders recognize our advocates for defending evidence-based policy against ideological capture.”

    CAPHRA accused FCTC institutions of ideological capture that are skewing policy against vaping and other harm reduction tools. The group questioned the value of FCTC membership for countries like New Zealand that are achieving strong results, warning that continued opposition to harm reduction risks undermining the treaty’s credibility and its original mandate to improve public health outcomes.

  • NZ Minister Grilled Over Oral Nicotine Plan

    NZ Minister Grilled Over Oral Nicotine Plan

    Associate Health Minister Casey Costello faced sharp questioning at a select committee over the government’s proposal to allow oral nicotine products such as snus and pouches. Costello, who, according to Radio New Zealand, has had to repeatedly deny allegations of an overly cozy relationship with the tobacco industry, said the move is part of a harm-reduction approach and is still subject to safety controls and measures to prevent youth access.

    Labour’s Dr. Ayesha Verrall warned the products could fuel new addiction among young people, pressing Costello to accept expert advice to introduce them only if proven safer and effective at reducing smoking. Costello said the recommendations are still being considered. Public health researcher Dr. Jude Ball said there is no evidence oral nicotine products help smokers quit and warned that tobacco companies are aggressively pushing them to expand youth uptake.

  • NZ Survey Shows Teen Vaping Falling, Smoking Near Zero

    NZ Survey Shows Teen Vaping Falling, Smoking Near Zero

    A new Action on Smoking and Health survey of more than 30,000 “year 10 students” shows New Zealand’s youth vaping rates have dropped significantly, with regular vaping halving since its 2021 peak of 20.2%. Daily vaping has also fallen to 7.1%, down from the 2022 high of 10.1%, while fewer than one-third of teens have ever tried vaping. Chairperson professor Robert Beaglehole says vaping is “not as cool as it used to be” and credits regulation and shifting perceptions.

    Youth smoking, meanwhile, has nearly disappeared. Daily smoking sits at just 1%, a level Beaglehole calls a “major global success” and evidence that New Zealand is “raising a smoke-free generation.” He warns, however, that excessive regulation could undermine progress by pushing people back toward cigarettes.

    Some experts remain concerned about inequities and product substitution. Associate Professor Andrew Waa cautions that some teens may be turning to oral nicotine products and argues for a “nicotine-free future.”

  • GATC Awards at COP11 Draw Criticism

    GATC Awards at COP11 Draw Criticism

    As predicted, New Zealand was given a “Dirty Ashtray Award” by the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC) at the World Health Organization’s FCTC COP11. The “award” is a symbolic dishonor given to countries or delegations that “are seen as obstructing progress on tobacco control or aligning too closely with tobacco industry interests.” Even though New Zealand has one of the world’s lowest smoking rates and some of the strictest tobacco controls, Copwatch correctly predicted it would receive the slight because the nation openly promotes harm reduction.

    The GATC said New Zealand’s citation is “for trying to portray their current tobacco control plan as a success when in reality, since COP10, they’ve reversed world-leading reforms, sabotaged Indigenous tobacco-free aspirations, have alarming vaping rates among young people, and have plummeted from 2nd to 53rd on the global index for tobacco industry interference.

    New Zealand’s legislative reversal is being used by tobacco industry interests globally to push bad policy.”

    New Zealand has a 6.8% smoking rate (the fifth-lowest in the world), with a pack of cigarettes costing just under NZ$50 ($28), plain packaging requirements, and a strict smoking policy that pretty much bans smoking in all public places. Conversely, Mexico’s smoking rate is 15.4% and the average cost for a pack of cigarettes is $0.70, and yet it was awarded the “Orchid Award” by GATC for “powerful and uncompromising statements against the tobacco industry.”

    The seemingly nonsensical awards drew sharp criticism.

    “The (Bloomberg-funded) Global Alliance for Tobacco Control has given the Dirty Ashtray award to New Zealand for having one of the world’s lowest smoking rates but doing it in a way that Bloomberg disapproves,” Institute of Economic Affairs head Chris Snowden wrote on his X account. The global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, for which New Zealand was criticized for having dropped on, is financed by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    “Prohibitionist campaigners are annoyed that New Zealand has embraced harm reduction, pointing to ‘alarming vaping rates among young people,’” Alastair Cohen wrote for Clearing the Air. “Youth vaping rates have fallen for three successive years in New Zealand. Mexico was awarded at COP11. Mexico’s smoking rates are more than double those of New Zealand.”

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) was also quick to condemn the awards. “Awarding the Dirty Ashtray to a country that is reducing smoking through harm reduction is not public health advocacy,” said CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas. “It is ideological obstruction.” 

    “Prohibition-driven NGOs have placed ideology ahead of public health outcomes,” CAPHRA said in a statement. “The FCTC Secretariat has permitted well-funded NGOs to dominate proceedings, pressure delegations, and exclude voices with lived experience, many of whom were denied access to COP11.

    “This decision reflects how the COP process has been driven by prohibitionist ideology rather than evidence and demonstrated public health success. These results are driven by harm reduction and regulated vaping, yet GATC dismisses the progress as ‘tobacco industry interference,’ ignoring the substantial health gains achieved.”

  • NZ Faces Rising Illicit Tobacco Trade

    NZ Faces Rising Illicit Tobacco Trade

    More than one in four cigarettes consumed in New Zealand came from the illicit market last year, according to a new independent report commissioned by Imperial Brands and BAT New Zealand. The study found that 27% of total tobacco consumption was illegal, up from 23.6% the previous year, resulting in lost excise revenue estimated at over NZ$600 million ($348 million). The rise is largely driven by a 41.9% increase in smuggled, contraband cigarettes.

    Industry representatives warned that without decisive intervention, New Zealand risks facing the same challenges seen in Australia, where delayed responses allowed illicit trade to flourish post-COVID. “The report shows New Zealand’s illicit tobacco trade continues to escalate,” said an Imperial Brands spokesperson. “It would be a mistake to assume the violence and criminal networks associated with an uncontrolled illicit market couldn’t happen here.”

    BAT New Zealand echoed the call for immediate action, highlighting the importance of proactive measures. “Australia presents a cautionary tale of how quickly illicit tobacco can take hold,” a BATNZ spokesperson said. “New Zealand has the opportunity to act now to prevent the exponential growth of illegal tobacco and protect both public health and government revenue.”

    Read the full report here.

  • NZ Health Official Found in Breach for Providing ‘Pro-Tobacco’ Document

    NZ Health Official Found in Breach for Providing ‘Pro-Tobacco’ Document

    New Zealand First Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has been found in breach of the Public Records Act after providing a “pro-tobacco document” to health officials without knowing its origin. According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), “Costello cut the tax on heated tobacco products (HTPs) despite health officials saying there was no strong evidence either that they worked as a smoking cessation tool or that they were significantly safer than cigarettes.” The Treasury estimated the HTP tax cut would cost up to NZ$293 million ($175.8 million) if continued until 2029, a forecast that included the impact of the Government collecting less in excise if smokers were encouraged to switch to HTPs.

    An inquiry by Chief Archivist Anahera Morehu concluded that neither Costello nor her office maintained accurate records about the “mystery document,” which argued nicotine was no more harmful than caffeine and pushed for tax breaks on heated tobacco products (HTPs). Morehu said the failure undermined government accountability and recommended that the minister’s office improve its record-keeping practices.

    Costello repeatedly insisted the notes were a collation of previous NZ First policy positions, handed to her in hard copy shortly after she assumed responsibility for tobacco and vaping policy in December 2023. The document criticized Labour’s smokefree agenda as “ideological nonsense” and urged that smokeless tobacco products be taxed like vapes rather than cigarettes. Costello said she did not know who wrote or delivered the paper, dismissing claims that her approach favored the industry. “It’s ridiculous, and wrong, to continue to try and link this approach to being pro-tobacco,” she said. According to RNZ, the Treasury said the moves benefited Philip Morris, which has a monopoly in New Zealand’s HTP market.