What went wrong with New Zealand’s smoke-free dream?

Remember when we were meant to be smoke free by 2025?

New Zealand’s goal to have fewer than 5% of people smoking by the end of the year looks unlikely to be met.

The target was introduced in 2010 – and while smoking has dropped significantly since then (from 16.4% in 2011 to 6.9% in 2023-24) there are still hundreds of thousands of people smoking daily.

In December 2022, New Zealand enacted world-leading tobacco control legislation – essentially creating a whole generation who’ll never be able to buy a pack of ciggies.

But, with that plan up in smoke – what next?

Today on The Front Page, Hāpai te Hauora chief operating officer Jason Alexander is with us to discuss how we might be able to reach our goal of being smoke free.

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

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