New Zealand's Smokefree 2025 dream fading away

Our stance to mark World Smokefree Month this May.

Well, here we are, 2025.

The year New Zealand is meant to become smokefree.

Will we, as a country, hit that target? Or has the Government’s repeal that stripped us of our worldleading goal done too much damage?

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ has been one of the strongest advocates for a smokefree Aotearoa for many years.

We’ve backed policies that would have phased out tobacco sales for future generations, reduced nicotine levels, and supported drastically cutting the number of retailers.

Back in 2021, the Foundation celebrated the bold steps taken toward Smokefree 2025, calling it a "significant step forward" in reducing respiratory disease and health inequities, particularly for Māori and Pacific communities.

Fast forward to today, and the mood has shifted.

The Foundation has been vocal in its disappointment over the coalition Government’s decision to roll back key Smokefree laws, warning that the consequences will be severe – there will be more hospitalisations, more deaths, and a missed opportunity to lead the world in tobacco control.

At the same time, the Foundation is deeply concerned that the coalition Government’s approach to achieving Smokefree 2025 is simply to shift the problem of nicotine addiction from cigarettes to vapes – this is hardly a solution.

While the Foundation welcomes the ban on disposable vapes, reduced nicotine levels and tougher penalties for selling to minors, it believes much more needs to be done.

The Government’s recent purchase of thousands of vape kits to help smokers quit raises serious concerns, not just about their effectiveness as an un-proven smoking cessation tool, but also about the lack of consultation, the purchase process, and quality control.

Instead of breaking nicotine addiction, this move will see more New Zealander’s dependent on vaping.

The goal shouldn’t just be a smokefree New Zealand –it should be vape-free too.

So, will New Zealand still reach its smokefree goal? We aren’t optimistic.

But what we do know is that vaping is not the answer to achieving smokefree Aotearoa.