What are our smoking rates and how are they changing?

Smoking rates in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to decrease. Currently, an estimated 6.8% of adults are daily smokers (284,000 people) and 8.3% of adults are current smokers  (350,000 people) ²⁷

Daily smoking rates in Aotearoa 2022/23 were:

Did you know that in 2022/23?^{27, 28}

• 55-64 year olds were the age group with the highest smoking rate at 9.7%
• There has been a decline over time in daily smoking for all ethnic groups in between 2011/12 and 2022/23:
  • Māori: 37.7% to 17.1%
  • Pacific peoples: 22.6% to 6.4%
  • European/Other: 14.7% to 6.1%
  • Asian: 7.9% to 3.3% 
• There was a drop in daily smoking for Pacific peoples from 18.1% in 2021/22 to 6.4% (with a 95% confidence interval of 4.1 -9.3%) in 2022/23. However, further data is needed to confirm the size of this recent drop as it is a lot larger than the gradual decreasing trend seen over previous years.
• After adjusting for age, gender and ethnic differences, adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods were 3.5 times as likely as adults in the least deprived neighbourhoods to be smokers.
• 16.2% of smokers quit in the 12 months prior to completing the 2022/23 survey. This is similar to the previous two years.

Smoking by priority population groups

Although smoking rates continue to drop, inequities remain. Smoking rates among Māori and Pacific peoples are higher than rates in other ethnicities. ²⁷

Māori

Pre-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 2022/23 were 17.1% (108,000 people), and current smoking rates for Māori adults were 20.2% (127,000 people). ²⁷
• Māori were 3.3 times as likely to be current smokers than their non-Māori/non-Pacific counterparts (adjusted for age and gender). ²⁷

​Pacific Peoples

Pacific peoples had the second highest smoking rates after Māori. They are also more likely to have negative health outcomes from smoking than the non-Pacific/non-Māori populations. ³⁰

• Daily smoking rates for Pacific adults in 2022/23 were 6.4% (18,000 people) and current smoking rates for adults were 10.3% (29,000 people). ²⁷
• Pacific peoples were 1.3 times as likely to be current smokers than their non-Pacific/non-Māori counterparts (adjusted for age and gender). ²⁷

Hapū māmā 

• Maternal smoking rates at two weeks postnatal have decreased from 13.7% in 2009 to 8.6% in 2020. ¹²
• Māori mothers had higher smoking rates than other ethnic groups between 2009 and 2020. However, smoking rates among Māori mothers have declined from 32.3% in 2009 to 23% in 2020.
• Maternal smoking rates have dropped by more than 30% across most districts between 2009 and 2020, particularly in Tairāwhiti District.

Young adults

As young adults move out of home and establish new careers and, friends and, have new experiences, the development of a smoking habit is an area of real concern. Research says that if you can make it to 25 years-old  without starting, you will likely never smoke. However too many young adults are being caught in the addictive cycle of smoking. ​Young adults often minimise the risks and addictiveness of tobacco. ¹⁷

• Daily smoking rates for 18-24 year olds in 2022/23 were 3.9% (17,000 people). ²⁷
• Current smoking rates for 18-24 year olds in 2022/23 were 8% (35,000 people). ²⁷ 

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 2023:

• Daily smoking rates remain low at 1.2%. ³¹  This is significantly low and is down from 15.2% when the ASH Year 10 Survey began in 2000.
• There were no statistically significant changes in regular smoking by ethnicity or by ethnicity & 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 6.2%, followed by Pacific (3.7%), European/Pākehā (2.0%), and Asian (1.0%) students. All differences are statistically significant. 
• Never smoking continues to increase by a statistically significant amount, from 85.8% in 2022 to 87.8% in 2023 – the highest never smoking prevalence in the history of the Survey.
• 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%)

Risk factors for starting smoking

Everyone should be aware of the risk factors that contribute to young people experimenting with tobacco and starting to smoke regularly. Consider some of the factors below and what you can do to support smokefree youth:

The social and physical environment:^35, 36

• media and social influences
• having friends who smoke 
• having parents who smoke and/or allow smoking in the house
• the family environment – attitudes towards smoking and parenting style
• the school environment and how they create and support smokefree environments
• being able to access cigarettes and tobacco – particularly from family or friends
• being able to afford to buy cigarettes and tobacco
• low self-esteem
• taking part in risk-taking behaviours.

Young people less likely to smoke if they: ³⁶

• are doing well at school
• have future aspirations
• take part in community activities or sports clubs
• belong to a religion or have a spiritual practice
• are connected with their family.

Where to find more information

• The Kupe data explorer provides access to Health and Lifestyles Survey data about New Zealanders' views and experiences across several topics including tobacco. Results are available up to 2020. 
• The Tobacco Control Data Repository has all New Zealand’s tobacco data in one location.
• The Manatū Hauora/Ministry of Health 2022/23: New Zealand Health Survey has information about tobacco use by adults over the age of 15 years, across different population groups (age, sex, ethnicity and neighbourhood deprivation); as do many other Ministry of Health reports.

Footnotes

1. Daily smoker (aged 15+ years): has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in lifetime and currently smokes at least once a day

2. Current smoker (aged 15+ years): has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in lifetime and currently smokes at least once a month