A nicotine-free country
With smokefree goals stalled, it's time New Zealand made a bold, new call - a nicotine-free Aotearoa, to tackle addiction and harm from smoking and vaping alike.
Every May, World Smokefree Month reminds us how far we’ve come — and how far we still have to go.
For New Zealand, 2026 was meant to mark a milestone: a smokefree Aotearoa.
Yet while smoking rates have fallen, progress has stalled.
Health inequities persist, and nicotine addiction — through cigarettes and vaping — remains widespread.
This is not a moment for celebration. It’s a moment to confront reality and set a new, ambitious direction.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation (now the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ) has long championed strong policies to protect Kiwis from tobacco: phasing out sales and limiting retailers.
These measures could have delivered a real generational shift.
But too often, the conversation has shifted to vaping.
Vaping does not break addiction — it simply shifts it.
We call it “harm transfer" to distinguish it from “harm reduction," which is a term often used by pro-vaping public health lobbyists and policy makers.
Too many young people are starting down a path that could lead to long-term dependence, and too many adults remain reliant on nicotine in another form.
This is why we are calling for a bold new goal: a Nicotine-Free New Zealand. Not “smokefree”, not “reduced harm”, but "nicotine-free".
Achieving it means ending addiction in all forms, tightening regulation on all nicotine products, supporting people to quit safely, and making public health the absolute priority.
Critics may argue this is unrealistic or overly restrictive.
But is it any more unrealistic than the original Smokefree 2025 vision once seemed?
A nicotine-free vision is ambitious — but ambition is what’s needed.
It would signal to young people that nicotine is not harmless, it would protect communities most affected by tobacco or vaping-related disease and would reclaim New Zealand’s place as a global leader in public health.
We cannot settle for half-measures or short-term fixes.
Vapes and nicotine replacement therapy products may help some people, but they will never achieve a nicotine-free Aotearoa on their own.
Real progress requires clarity, commitment, and courage.
New Zealand once led the world in tobacco control. Now it is time to lead again, with a goal that truly matters: a generation free from nicotine dependence.