New Zealand’s adult daily smoking rate found to have fallen at twice the pace of Australia's
Colin Paul Mendelsohn, Robert Beaglehole, Ron Borland, Wayne Hall, Alex Wodak, Ben Youdan, Gary Chung Kai Chan
New research published in the Addiction journal has found that New Zealand’s adult daily smoking rate has declined at twice the pace of Australia’s over the past seven years. In New Zealand, the rate dropped by 10% annually (from 14.5% to 6.8%), whereas in Australia, the decline was slower at 5% per year (from 12.2% to 8.3%). This trend closely aligns with the vaping rates observed in both countries.
Smoking rates declined three times faster in New Zealand’s lowest socioeconomic communities compared to Australia (12% per year vs. 4% per year) and Māori communities versus Australia’s Indigenous population (16% vs. 6% per year from 2019–2023).
Youth vaping is beginning to decline in New Zealand following the introduction of new regulations in 2021 (8.7% in 2024).
Australia faces a widespread and often violent black market for tobacco, while New Zealand has shown no substantial evidence of illicit trade
Read more here.
