“Smokefree” means smokefree, not vapefree – New Zealand’s harm proportionate plans to end smoking

“Smokefree” means smokefree, not vapefree – New Zealand’s harm proportionate plans to end smoking.

Vaping has had a profound impact on reducing smoking rates in New Zealand in recent years. Even though this has been accompanied by youth uptake, the Government has not been deterred from seeing vaping as an important tool for reducing the disproportionate toll of smoking on public health.

In late 2021, the New Zealand Government published their smokefree plan to get adult smoking rates under 5% by 2025.  The plan is notable in that it considers harm reduction and vaping a perquisite for success, declaring: “We will not achieve our goal of Smokefree 2025, however, until our current regulatory settings reflect a more risk-proportionate framework. We can ensure this by making smoked tobacco products more regulated and less available than vaping products”.

Plans to dramatically reduce nicotine content, additives, flavourings and severely limit access will focus exclusively on combustibles, with the deliberate intention to ensure vaping products remain more affordable, accessible, and ultimately the main source of non-pharmacological nicotine for adult users.

This presentation will unpack New Zealand’s approach to vaping and smoking, the evidence, experiences and ideologies that have informed it, and how harm reduction has become a cornerstone of our plans for a smokefree nation.