Is nicotine the new smoking, or the end of smoking? Lessons from New Zealand

New Zealand has some of the most liberal vaping laws in the world, and the rapid rise in vape use has correlated with unprecedented declines in smoking since 2018. Overall nicotine use is up, but the way New Zealander’s use it have transformed. Less than 6.9% of adults now smoke daily. New Zealand has a goal to be smokefree by the end of 2025, meaning less than 5% adult daily smoking. The rapid declines in smoking in recent years mean we have surpassed this goal for young people, the least deprived and will likely achieve it for women and European New Zealanders. Youth smoking is almost a thing of the past, and rates of decline have been especially rapid for Māori.

A change in government saw New Zealand abandon laws to denicotinise cigarettes, ban most combustible sales and mandate a smokefree generation.  Instead, the new government is favouring a harm reduction approach, increasing access to non-combusted nicotine.

This talk will examine progress to date,  whether harm reduction is a feasible endgame strategy for smoking in New Zealand, and whether it can overcome political tensions, outrage and headlines about youth vaping, and a growing public health movement against nicotine and addiction.