Hon Casey Costello
Associate Minister of Health

The Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan, which outlines the final push to achieve the Smokefree goal, was launched today by Associate Health Minister Casey Costello.

“New Zealand has had incredible success in reducing smoking rates with a decline in daily smoking from 16.4% in 2011/12 to 6.9% in 2023/24,” Ms Costello says.

“Over the last five years there’s been particular progress, with the Māori smoking rate halving, while smoking rates are lowest in our young people, signalling a generational shift away from cigarettes.

“This means that Getting to Smokefree 2025 is within reach – but we need to focus and renew our effort, especially to help people to quit smoking, and that’s what this plan is about. We want to reduce smoking rates and the harm from smoking.”

The plan involves initiatives across the smokefree continuum:

• Getting smokers to try and quit - and to give it another try if they’ve previously failed
• Improving access to quit smoking providers
• Supporting people to stay smokefree by providing the most effective services and products, and
• Stopping people from taking up smoking in the first place.

“New Zealand is one of the leaders in reducing smoking, and that approach is responsible for our progress to date,” Ms Costello says.

“However, we need to reinvigorate our stop smoking efforts and we need to target the right people, especially older smokers and Māori and Pacific peoples, if we are to get the smoking rate below 5 per cent by the end of next year.”

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The Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan was developed by Health NZ I Te Whatu Ora, informed by insights gathered during the Stop Smoking Services forums in August.

It sets out a renewed focus for smoking cessation services, health promotion, and community mobilization, while enhancing compliance and enforcement measures.

“A key step to reaching Smokefree 2025 is to provide the tools and resources that encourage more ‘quit smoking’ attempts by more people,” Ms Costello says.

“To achieve this, we’re empowering communities to take the lead at the grassroots level, mobilising collective efforts to encourage and support people to quit smoking.

“By using every tool in our toolbox, whether it’s education, tailored support, or innovative campaigns, we’re determined to increase awareness, provide more robust support, and ultimately help more people make successful quit attempts.

“Part of that is about reaching people with the message that it’s in their interests – and better for their families – if they quit smoking, and there are a number of ways of doing this. So even if you have tried to quit before, give it another go.

“We also want to ensure there’s access to a range of effective products and tools, and that the whole health sector works together to encourage referrals to stop smoking providers.

“Those using quit smoking services are four times more likely to successfully stop smoking compared to those who receive no support.”

Minister Costello said the plan provided a work programme for those in the sector and would re-energise and focus stop-smoking efforts.

“I’ll be checking regularly on progress and implementation. We know that these approaches have worked, so with re-invigorated focus on what we know has worked and a 13-month timeline we can deliver Smokefree 2025.

“The key message is that it’s always worth trying to quit smoking – that tens of thousands of others have managed to do it - and that there are great people ready to help.”

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