Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025

A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today.

"The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we need a significant final push over the next 13 months to meet the Smokefree 2025 goal," Ms Costello says.

"Most of the survey data shows a continuation of the great progress that's been made in the last few years - especially with falling numbers of Mori smokers and very low rates of youth smoking," Ms Costello says.

"Over the last five years the Mori smoking rate has halved, while smoking rates are lowest in our young people, signalling a generational shift away from cigarettes. The smoking rate for 18-24-year-olds is 4.2 per cent, and for 15-17-year-olds it is less than 1 per cent.

"These are the sorts of results we want to see - as I've consistently said, the Coalition Government is committed to the Smokefree 2025 goal and to reducing smoking rates and the harm from smoking.

"However, we need to ensure all of the health system is focused on and working towards this outcome and we need to target some key populations, especially Mori and Pacific peoples, if we are to get the smoking rate below 5 per cent by the end of next year." 

Overall, that means getting about 80,000 more people to quit smoking, Ms Costello says. "It's a big ask, but we have had those sorts of numbers achieved in 2022, 2021 and 2022 when we had exactly the same regime as now, so it's a matter of refocussing our effort.

"New Zealand is one of the world leaders in reducing smoking and this Government's approach builds on the tools, services and marketing that have worked to date.

"The Smokefree providers told me that some things fell away in the last year, most importantly referrals to their services from others in the health system.

"That's something that needs to be addressed and I will soon be launching a new Smokefree Action Plan to reach the headline Smokefree target by the end of next year and then to ensure it's reduced for all population groups. 

"The Government's approach is to take practical steps to provide smokers the tools to quit and stay quit.

"Early next year I will also take proposals to cabinet for an improved regulatory regime around all nicotine and tobacco products with a view to having a system that is aimed at reducing harm, that is coherent across products, and enforceable.

"Part of that work is bolstering the monitoring, compliance and enforcement regime and addressing black market tobacco."

The Minister also announced that cabinet yesterday approved the annual tobacco excise increase. It will increase by 2.23 per cent from 1 January 2025.

ENDS

Editors' notes

The most recent data for other countries' smoking rates are:

United Kingdom 11.9%; United States 11.6%; Australia 8.3%; Canada 8.2%; Sweden 5.3%.

Source: Beehive