New Zealand has recorded the steepest decline ever in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, falling from 2nd place in 2023 to 53rd in 2025, a drop of 51 places in just two years.
The international report, released by the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, assesses how governments worldwide resist or enable interference from the tobacco industry, Guyon Espiner of RNZ reported.
According to a report by Guyon Espiner of RNZ, New Zealand’s dramatic fall is largely due to the repeal of smoke-free generation laws, tax cuts benefiting tobacco giant Philip Morris, and the increasing movement of personnel between political and lobbying roles. The study, published biannually since 2019, ranks 100 countries based on their adherence to tobacco control principles.
Advocacy group Vape-Free Kids called the result an “international disgrace.” Co-founder Charyl Robinson said, “New Zealand has become an international embarrassment and an example of how quickly a government can be corrupted by the tobacco industry,” Guyon Espiner of RNZ reported.
However, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello dismissed the report as “ridiculous,” arguing that what matters most is the country’s declining smoking rate rather than international rankings.
“New Zealand’s smoking rate has more than halved since 2015 and now stands at 6.9 per cent, one of the lowest in the world,” Costello said. She also pointed out that countries ranked higher in the index, like Brunei and France, have smoking rates two to three times greater than New Zealand’s, Guyon Espiner of RNZ reported.
In 2024, the government scrapped key smokefree laws that would have reduced tobacco retailers, limited nicotine content, and banned cigarette sales to anyone born after 2009. Costello also cut excise taxes on Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) by 50 per cent, despite warnings from health experts that such measures primarily benefit Philip Morris, which holds a monopoly on HTPs in New Zealand.
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins criticised the move, calling it “a tax break to the tobacco companies on the basis of very questionable advice.” He said Labour would reverse the tax cuts if elected, Guyon Espiner of RNZ reported.
The report also expressed concern over “unregulated lobbying” and “revolving-door connections” between the tobacco industry and political circles, citing cases where former Philip Morris communication staff had previously worked with NZ First. A leaked Philip Morris document, reported by RNZ, suggested the company sought to influence parties such as NZ First and the Māori Party to secure favourable regulation, as reported by Guyon Espiner of RNZ.
The section on New Zealand, prepared by the New Zealand Cancer Society, described an “increase in industry participation” and “unnecessary interactions” between government and tobacco representatives.
Cancer Society advocacy head Rachael Neumann warned that weakened tobacco control policies could have severe health consequences. “Every year, 5000 people die from tobacco-related diseases,” she said. “Repealing these laws and allowing interference will only lead to more smoking, more addiction, and more cancer,” Guyon Espiner of RNZ reported.
Despite the criticism, Costello maintained that New Zealand continues to follow international protocols regarding engagement with the tobacco industry. “The industry has no involvement in the government’s smokefree or health policies,” she said. “It’s strange that the Cancer Society seems to think criticising the industry matters more than actually reducing smoking and cancer,” quoted Guyon Espiner of RNZ.
Meanwhile, countries such as Uruguay, the Maldives, and Palau emerged as the most improved in the 2025 index, while New Zealand was singled out as the most deteriorated nation, underscoring what experts describe as a major setback in the country’s once globally celebrated tobacco control record.
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