Smokefree 2025: A Promise Gone Up In Smoke

Smokefree 2025 was within reach. Now, it’s a milestone we’re set to miss.

As the globe marks World Smokefree Day this Saturday, 31 May, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ is reminding Kiwis that this was the year New Zealand was meant to become smokefree.

"Instead, the Government rolled back the clock and stoked the fire, derailing years of public health progress," Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says.

Ms Harding says there is little to celebrate and much to be concerned about.

"We were on track to lead the world in tobacco control, now we appear to be leading the world in vaping.

"Our previous Smokefree laws were bold, evidence-based, and targeted at protecting future generations, but the repeal of those measures blindsided everyone."

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

It 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 about the implications to the health of New Zealanders and a missed opportunity to lead the world in tobacco control.

At the same time, the Foundation is deeply concerned by the new approach to achieving Smokefree Aotearoa - simply shifting the problem to vapes.

"The Government’s strategy seems to be ‘let’s just add vapes to the mix’, which is just another product that has harmful health effects and ensures future generations are nicotine dependent," said Ms Harding.

"As we have said previously, that rationale is like letting stoats in to eradicate rabbits - that’s not a solution.

"We’re not breaking the cycle of nicotine dependency - we’re just redirecting it," she says.

"Let’s free Aotearoa from the shackles of big tobacco, who make money on the back of nicotine dependency."

The goal shouldn’t just be a smokefree New Zealand - it should be vape-free too, Ms Harding says.

"Otherwise, we’re just chasing a new kind of addiction - and calling it progress."

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