New Zealand's smoking rate has fallen to an historic low of 8 per cent of adults smoking daily - down from 9.4 per cent a year ago, according to Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall.

'The Government's plan to reduce smoking is working. The number of people smoking fell by 56,000 over the past year, despite the pressures and stress of the pandemic, and smoking rates are now half of what they were 10 years ago,” says Verrall.

ASH director Ben Youdan says the figures show the number of people vaping has overtaken daily smoking for the first time.

'8.3 per cent of people reported daily vaping compared to 8 per cent who smoke daily. While some people will be concerned by rising vaping numbers, the habit poses only a small fraction of a health risk compared to smoking. 55,000 fewer people are smoking than last year and thousands of people will avoid cancer and heart disease as a result,” says Ben.

'I'm really pleased to see the downward trend continue especially given other countries saw an uptick in their smoking rates during lockdowns,” adds Verrall.

'The Government has made stop smoking services more accessible and introduced tailored Māori and Pacific services and funded more health promotion. We know these policies are leading to more quit attempts, with roughly 84,000 people attempting to quit smoking in the past 12 months.

'I'm especially pleased to see a big drop in the daily smoking rates for Māori wāhine. A quarter of Māori wāhine smokers have quit in the last 12 months, down from 24.1 per cent last year to 18.2 per cent this year.

'The overall daily smoking rate for Māori is now at a low of 19.9 per cent, down from 22.3 per cent in 2020/21.

ASH board member and frontline smoking cessation practitioner Rebecca Ruwhiu-Collins says the 'big drop” by wāhine Māori is particularly good news.

'I've been working to support wāhine to stop smoking for nearly 20 years, and never seen such an exciting and positive change in the smoking rates,” says Rebecca.

'I run vape to quit groups and this data shows that vaping is part of this change and that wāhine Māori are empowered to reclaim their health from smoking.”

'A key driver of this success has been the work we have done to co-design Quit programmes with Māori who have used services in the past. That first-hand knowledge of what support and intervention work is making a real difference,” says Verrall.

'Congratulations to the 56,000 people who quit and remained smokefree in the last year despite its many challenges.

'Smoking rates are plummeting and our goal of being smokefree by 2025 is within reach.

'I aim to have our smokefree legislation passed by the end of the year. This will decrease the number of retail outlets able to sell tobacco, drastically reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels and ensure the next generation are never sold tobacco.

'It's never too late to quit smoking, get in touch with Quitline or your local stop smoking provider and start your journey today,” says Verrall.