New Zealand has reduced smoking to historically low levels by combining tough tobacco legislation with harm reduction measures and regulated access to e-cigarettes. This was reported by the country's Ministry of Health during COP11 and the negotiations on the future tobacco convention
New Zealand has more than halved smoking rates in the country since 2012. At the same time, it has implemented a harm reduction strategy in the nicotine market through safe and regulated access to e-cigarettes. Today, 6.9% of the adult population smokes, while the proportion of e-cigarette users has increased at a similar rate.
- Our success is based on the consistent implementation of the Tobacco Convention, with advertising bans, packet warnings, high taxes and smoke-free environments, and harm reduction measures, said Jane Chambers, spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Health, in her opening speech at the COP11 meeting in Geneva.
Harm reduction as a strategy
Ms Chambers emphasised that one of the most important efforts was to actively support smoking cessation. Through extensive campaigns, New Zealand has encouraged smokers to use e-cigarettes as a tool to quit - a strategy that has proven effective, especially among younger people.
- Smoking has halved and is now among the lowest in the world, at 6.9%. Among young people aged 14-24, smoking is down to 3%, and among the very youngest, aged 14-17, only 0.9% smoke daily. This is effectively a smoke-free generation, says Jane Chambers
Smoking falls - vejping increases
As smoking has declined, the use of smokeless nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes, has increased. This trend took off in 2016, when e-cigarettes were still unregulated in the country. At the same time, research showed that the risks were significantly lower than for cigarettes, and many New Zealanders started using them to stay smoke-free.
When the products were later regulated, the authorities placed great emphasis on providing clear information on the relative risks.
- We have made sure to offer practical and clear support to those who want to quit smoking. Since 2019, smoking has been declining at an accelerating pace thanks to harm reduction measures, in particular through regulated access to e-cigarettes, says Jane Chambers.
Largest impact among Maori
New Zealand is second only to Sweden as the country with the fastest decline in smoking in the world. The measures have had a particularly strong impact among the indigenous Maori population. In 2012, 37% of this group smoked, compared to 14% of the general population.
Targeted campaigns - including the advice to use e-cigarettes as a substitute for cigarettes - have led to an increase in vejpning while smoking has fallen sharply.
- Daily smoking among Maori has fallen by 60%, faster than in any other group. Today, only 14 per cent smoke, says Jane Chambers.
Strict but harm-reducing legislation
New Zealand emphasises that e-cigarette legislation is based on the principle of harm reduction in relation to traditional tobacco products.
- We have strict legislation aimed at preventing underage use, while increasing access to regulated products for smokers who use them to quit, says Jane Chambers.
The legislation currently allows licensed sales with differentiated regulation. The nicotine content of e-liquid is limited to 20 mg/ml in regular shops and only flavours such as artificial tobacco and menthol may be sold. Specialist shops, i.e. vejp shops, selling only vaping products are allowed to sell stronger variants and provide unlimited variants of flavours.
Disposable models have been banned since July 2025 and have been largely replaced by smaller, rechargeable e-cigarettes. All advertising is prohibited, and shops cannot display products inappropriately.
Decreases after regulation
By 2024, 11% of the population was vejping daily, up from 1% in 2012 - a trend that correlates with the sharp decline in smokers. At the same time, strict legislation also appears to be affecting the proportion of vejpers in the country, according to Jane Chambers.
- The measures are working, and according to the latest data from 2025, vejpning has also decreased, she says.
