Smoking rates and figures

Smoking prevalence in Aotearoa

Daily smoking¹ rates have declined steadily since 2011/12, with the rate of decline increasing slightly from around 2019/20.

In 2023/24, 6.9% of adults were daily smokers (an estimated 300,000 people) and 8.4% of adults were current smokers (an estimate of 363,000 people).²

Daily smoking rates in Aotearoa 2023/24

Key facts for 2023/2024

In 2023/24⁴, trends indicate that:

• Daily smoking rates were not statistically different from rates in 2022/23. This is for both overall rates and rates by age group in 2023/24. However, daily smoking rates have generally decreased over time in all age groups from 2011/12 to 2022/23. 
• 45-54 year olds were the age group with the highest smoking rate at 10.8%.
• Daily smoking rates have declined over the last five years (2019/20 to 2023/24) in all ethnic groups, but inequities remain: 
  • Māori (from 28.6% to 14.7%).
  • Pacific peoples (from 18.4% to 12.3%).
  • European/other (from 10.2% to 6.1%)  .
  • Asian (from 7.4% to 3.8%).
• Adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods were more likely to be daily smokers than adults living in the least deprived neighbourhoods (13.9% and 2.5%, respectively).
• 17.6% of smokers quit in the 12 months prior to completing the 2023/24 survey. This is similar to the previous two years.

Figures for priority population groups

Daily smoking has declined in all ethnic groups from 2011/12 to 2023/24, although trends have been more variable in Asian and Pacific peoples most likely due to smaller sample sizes.

Māori

Before colonisation, Māori did not smoke. However, when tobacco was introduced to Aotearoa in the 18th century, that changed quickly. Smoking has been particularly damaging for Māori, who have higher smoking rates and higher rates of death and tobacco-related illness than non-Māori.

• Daily smoking rates for Māori adults in 2023/24 were 14.7% (an estimated 95,000 people), and current smoking for Māori adults were 17.2% (an estimated 111,000 people)². 
• Māori are 2.6 times as likely to be current smokers than non-Māori, and Pacific peoples are 1.9 times as likely to be current smokers than non-Pacific peoples, after adjusting for age and gender².

Pacific peoples

Pacific peoples have the second highest smoking rates after Māori.  

• Daily smoking rates for Pacific adults in 2023/24 were 12.3% (an estimated 35,000 people) and current smoking rates for Pacific adults were 14.7% (an estimated 43,000 people)².
• Pacific peoples are 1.93 times as likely to be current smokers than non-Pacific peoples (adjusted for age and gender)². 

Hapū māmā 

• Maternal smoking rates at two weeks postnatal have decreased from 13.7% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2021⁵.
• The gap in smoking rates between Māori mothers and other ethnic groups continues to decrease. Smoking rates among Māori mothers have declined from 32.2% in 2009 to 19.5% in 2021⁵.
• Maternal smoking rates have dropped by more than 30% across most districts between 2009 and 2021, particularly in Tairāwhiti.

Young adults

Research says that if a person can 24 years old without starting to smoke, they will likely never smoke⁶. However, too many young adults are caught in the addictive cycle of smoking. Young adults often treat the risks and addictiveness of tobacco as minimal.

• Daily smoking rates for 18-24 year olds in 2023/24 were 4.2% (an estimated 19,000 people)².
• Current smoking rates for 18-24 year olds in 2023/24 were 6.8% (an estimated 30,000 people)². 

Rangatahi

Preventing tobacco use among youth is critical. 

Smoking prevalence from the ASH Year 10 Survey (of 14 and 15 year olds) found that in 2024⁷:

• Daily smoking rates remain low (stable at 1.2%). 
• Regular smoking remains low (stable at 2.8%).
• There were no statistically significant changes in regular smoking when analysed by ethnicity or by ethnicity and gender.
  • There have been large decreases in regular smoking prevalence for all ethnicities since 1999. However, there are still differences between the four major ethnicities.
  • Regular smoking was highest for Māori students at 5.9%, followed by Pacific (3.2%), European/Pākehā (2.3%), and Asian (0.7%) students. All differences are statistically significant. 
• Never smoking remains high (stable at 88.3% in 2024). There were no statistically significant changes since 2023/
• Never smoking prevalence has seen large increases for both genders. Māori boys reported a higher never smoking prevalence (79.8% in 2024) than Māori girls (76.6%). This is a small but statistically significant amount.
• Māori students showed a statistically significant increase in never smoking (73.8% to 77.7%), in particular for Māori girls (71.0% to 76.8%).