Profile
New Zealand Flag
Cigarettes
Traditional Smokeless
HTP
E-cigarettes
Snus
Pouches
NRT
New Zealand Background
Profile
New Zealand Flag
Cigarettes
Traditional Smokeless
HTP
E-cigarettes
Snus
Pouches
NRT
Data sourced: 2024.   Page updated: 2025-11-05

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.

Prevalence

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Year Value Reference/Comment
2016 2% 1A A
2020 5.2% 1B
2021 8.2% 1C B
2021 8.2% 1D
2023 11.9% 1E
2024 14% 1F
References:
  1. Oakly et al. 2019.Prevalence of e-cigarette use from a nationally representative sample in New Zealand. Addictive Behaviours. Volume 98, November 2019, 106024. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460318314102?via%3Dihub
  2. New Zealand Health Survey. Annual Data Explorer. Published November 2020. Data for the 2019/20 year was collected from July 2019 to March 2020. https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2019-20-annual-data-explorer/_w_99e89d4e/#!/home
  3. WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/country-profiles/tobacco/gtcr-2023/tobacco-2023-nzl.pdf?sfvrsn=1b7ea63e_3&download=true. Accessed: 8 August 2025.
  4. Ministry of Health. 2021. Annual Data Explorer 2020/21: New Zealand Health Survey [Data File]. Available at: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2020-21-annual-data-explorer/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).
  5. NZHS: New Zealand Health Survey (2023)
  6. New Zealand Health Survey 2024 cited in WHO. (2025). WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030 (6th edn). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116276
Comments:
  1. The Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS) is a biennial face-to-face in-house survey of New Zealand adults aged 15<U+202F>years or over. The HLS was completed by 3854 participants in 2016.
  2. Adults survey: New Zealand Health Survey , 2020-21; National, ages 15+
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2020 4.3% 1A
2021 7% 1B A
2024 13.2% 1C
References:
  1. New Zealand Health Survey. Annual Data Explorer. Published November 2020. Data for the 2019/20 year was collected from July 2019 to March 2020. https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2019-20-annual-data-explorer/_w_99e89d4e/#!/home
  2. WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/country-profiles/tobacco/gtcr-2023/tobacco-2023-nzl.pdf?sfvrsn=1b7ea63e_3&download=true. Accessed: 8 August 2025.
  3. New Zealand Health Survey 2024 cited in WHO. (2025). WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030 (6th edn). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116276
Comments:
  1. Adults survey: New Zealand Health Survey , 2020-21; National, ages 15+
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2020 6.2% 1A
2021 9.5% 1B A
2024 14.7% 1C
References:
  1. New Zealand Health Survey. Annual Data Explorer. Published November 2020. Data for the 2019/20 year was collected from July 2019 to March 2020. https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2019-20-annual-data-explorer/_w_99e89d4e/#!/home
  2. WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/country-profiles/tobacco/gtcr-2023/tobacco-2023-nzl.pdf?sfvrsn=1b7ea63e_3&download=true. Accessed: 8 August 2025.
  3. New Zealand Health Survey 2024 cited in WHO. (2025). WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030 (6th edn). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116276
Comments:
  1. Adults survey: New Zealand Health Survey , 2020-21; National, ages 15+
239,323
2
2021
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2021 6.2% 3A A
2021 6.2% 3B
References:
  1. WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/country-profiles/tobacco/gtcr-2023/tobacco-2023-nzl.pdf?sfvrsn=1b7ea63e_3&download=true. Accessed: 8 August 2025.
  2. Ministry of Health. 2021. Annual Data Explorer 2020/21: New Zealand Health Survey [Data File]. Available at: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2020-21-annual-data-explorer/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).
Comments:
  1. Adults survey: New Zealand Health Survey , 2020-21; National, ages 15+
5%
4 A
2021
7.5%
4 A
2021
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2016 17% 3A A
2021 25.2% 3B
References:
  1. Oakly et al. 2019.Prevalence of e-cigarette use from a nationally representative sample in New Zealand. Addictive Behaviours. Volume 98, November 2019, 106024. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460318314102?via%3Dihub
  2. Ministry of Health. 2021. Annual Data Explorer 2020/21: New Zealand Health Survey [Data File]. Available at: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2020-21-annual-data-explorer/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).
Comments:
  1. The Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS) is a biennial face-to-face in-house survey of New Zealand adults aged 15<U+202F>years or over. The HLS was completed by 3854 participants in 2016.
References:
  1. New Zealand Health Survey 2024 cited in WHO. (2025). WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030 (6th edn). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116276
  2. 1. Ministry of Health. 2021. Annual Data Explorer 2020/21: New Zealand Health Survey [Data File]. Available at: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2020-21-annual-data-explorer/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021). 2. Calculation based on population size data of people over 15 years of age (16+). Source of population data: World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
  3. Ministry of Health. 2021. Annual Data Explorer 2020/21: New Zealand Health Survey [Data File]. Available at: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2020-21-annual-data-explorer/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).
  4. WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/country-profiles/tobacco/gtcr-2023/tobacco-2023-nzl.pdf?sfvrsn=1b7ea63e_3&download=true. Accessed: 8 August 2025.
Comments:
  1. Adults survey: New Zealand Health Survey , 2020-21; National, ages 15+

Product promotion

References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
Comments:
  1. Allowed or banned at place of sale or allowed or banned in all media.

Regulation

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Year Value Reference/Comment
2017 or earlier Allowed
2024 Allowed 1B
References:
  1. Data cross-referenced where possible using the following sources :1. Vapetrotter website. Available at: https://www.vapetrotter.com/laws/ ; 2. Global tobacco control website. Available at:https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/node/14052 ; 3. Tobacco Control Laws website. Available at : https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/
  2. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
Yes
2
References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
  2. Data cross-referenced where possible using the following sources :1. Vapetrotter website. Available at: https://www.vapetrotter.com/laws/ ; 2. Global tobacco control website. Available at:https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/node/14052 ; 3. Tobacco Control Laws website. Available at : https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/

Availability

References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.

Regulations and restrictions

YES
1
2022
YES
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2017 or earlier YES
2024 YES 2A
References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2017 or earlier Yes: 18 years
2022 Yes: 18 years 1A
References:
  1. Global Tobacco Control. Country Laws Regulating E-Cigarettes. Available at: https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/en/policy-scan/e-cigarettes/countries?country=116. Accessed: 8 May 2025.
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Year Value Reference/Comment
2017 or earlier NO
2024 NO 2A
References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
Equal or less than 20mg/ml
2
2024
NO
References:
  1. Global Tobacco Control. Country Laws Regulating E-Cigarettes. Available at: https://www.globaltobaccocontrol.org/en/policy-scan/e-cigarettes/countries?country=116. Accessed: 8 May 2025.
  2. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.

Tax

0.00
1
2024
References:
  1. Anti Smoking Global Index. Vaping Products. Available at: https://antismoking.global/world-map. Accessed: 22 July 2025.
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.