Top Stories from New Zealand
8.6% of the adult population are current smokers
There are approximately 364,000 current smokers in New Zealand
Country profile
Data sourced:
2025.
Page updated:
2025-12-11
Smoking in New Zealand
In New Zealand there has been a continued decline in current smoking prevalence in the past two decades. Smoking prevalence declined from 20.1% in 2006/07 to 15.7% in 2016/2017, with a further drop to 10.9% in 2021. For men, current smoking prevalence has reduced steadily over this period, from 21% in 2006/7 to 17% in 2016/17, and down further to 14.1% in 2020. For women, current smoking prevalence has decreased from 19% in 2006/7 to 14% in 2016/17, declining further to 11.3% in 2020.
3,580
Deaths
3,580 people die every year due to tobacco smoking in New Zealand.
12.7 million €
Market size of NRT.
NRT market size is estimated to be 12.7 million €.
Nicotine Vaping Devices
in New Zealand
E-cigarettes are legal in New Zealand, with regulations covering product safety, packaging, and sales. Based on these regulations, new products must be notified before entering the market, and containers are required to be child-resistant. Health warnings are mandatory on packaging, and sales are restricted to people aged 18 and over. There are also limits on nicotine strength (no higher than 20 mg/ml), but no restrictions apply on flavour range. Use of e-cigarettes in public places is also regulated. E-cigarettes can be legally purchased online and are available through general retail outlets. Health claims about e-cigarettes are permitted, and currently, there is no excise tax applied to these products.
In 2021, an estimated 316,500 people in New Zealand were reported to be current vapers. The adult current e-cigarette vaping prevalence in 2023 was estimated to be 11.9%. This was 7% among females and 9.5% among males. The number of daily vapers was recorded to be 239,300. The adult daily vaping prevalence was 6.2% with a daily prevalence of 5% among females and 7.5% among males. In a survey conducted in 2021 in the country, 25.2% of respondents stated that they had tried e-cigarette vaping.
Heated Tobacco Products
in New Zealand
In 2018, a New Zealand District Court decision permitted the sale of heated tobacco products under the 1990 Smoke-free Environments Act. The case was Philip Morris International (the makers of IQOS) vs. New Zealand's Ministry of Health. The law regulating heated tobacco products states they should not be sold or advertised to minors (under 18 years). The New Zealand Ministry of Health has stated that it plans to develop a risk-proportionate regulatory framework for products covered by the 1990 Smoke-free Environments Act, which includes heated tobacco products.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
in New Zealand
Estimated NRT market size is 12.7 million €.
Snus
in New Zealand
Used in Scandinavia for more than 200 years, snus is providing smokers in Sweden and Norway with an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Find out what it is, and why it is considered a safer nicotine product in our briefing paper.
Pouches
in New Zealand
Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product which can provide users of high-risk tobacco with an alternative that poses fewer risks to their health. Read more about nicotine pouches in our briefing paper
The GSTHR database is updated regularly by our team.
However, please be aware that the information we provide does not constitute legal advice.
We cannot guarantee that the information is up to date or accurate, as the regulatory status of different product
categories can change at short notice and with little publicity.
If you wish to check the legal status of use or possession of any safer nicotine product in a specific country or region,
you should verify the information independently.
If you have reason to think that the information supplied on the GSTHR is inaccurate, please contact us with details
and any references and we will rectify any errors.