People have used tobacco, or other plants that contain nicotine, for many centuries. Check out the history of tobacco use in New Zealand, from pre-1900s to today.

Pre 1900s

• Tobacco was first found and cultivated in the Americas and brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus and other explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries.
• Brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
• Introduced to New Zealand by Captain Cook.

1900s

• Late 1900s: The invention of machines to mass-produce cigarettes altered smoking habits forever through increasing the convenience and accessibility of cigarettes.
• 1914-1918: Cigarettes became very popular among soldiers during the First World War - pipes and cigars were inconvenient in the trenches while cigarette packs fitted nicely into shirt pockets and could be smoked during a short break! Soldiers were given free cigarettes every day and after the war cigarette smoking became much more acceptable. After the Second World War, three-quarters of the male adult population, and one-quarter of adult females were smokers.

1920 – 1950s

• 1930s: Medical professions began to notice an increase in lung cancer – previously an unusual disease. "The most salient fact in the history of lung cancer, is that before the invention of cigarettes, it was very very rare" (source: www.smokinglungs.com/cighist.htm).
• By the 1950s, American and British research began to identify smoking, particularly cigarettes, as a leading cause of the increase in lung cancer rates.
• In New Zealand:
  • 1948: First Department of Health posters linking cancer with smoking.
  • 1953: Tobacco consumption by weight per adult peaked in New Zealand.

1960 – 1980s

• 1964: Release of the Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health linked smoking to heart disease, other kinds of cancer, and many other health problems.
• In New Zealand…
  • 1963: Cigarette advertising banned on New Zealand television and radio by broadcasting authorities in response to the Medical Association’s call for a ban on advertising.
  • 1973: Industry agrees to ban billboard and cinema screen cigarette ads.
  • 1974: First health warning on cigarette packets.
  • 1979: Tobacco defined as a toxic substance in the new Toxic Substances Act.
  • 1984: Māori men and women had highest rates of lung cancer incidence reported from any cancer registry in the world.
  • 1984: Labour Government initiates a tobacco control programme.
  • 1985:
    • Minister of Health publicised a "comprehensive policy to promote non-smoking", asking the Government to commit to a tobacco control programme including: public involvement and health education, quit clinics for adults, restricted adolescent access to tobacco, regulation of tar yields, increased taxation, smokefree environments, health warnings and a ban on advertising tobacco products and tobacco brand name sponsorships.
    • Great Smokefree Week (1986) supported with $0.5million government funding for TV advertising.
    • Budget raises tax, industry adds its margins and tobacco prices rise 53%
  • 1987: New, varied and strong health warnings linking smoking to heart and lung disease appear on the front and back of cigarette packets sold in New Zealand.
  • 1987: Department of Health goes totally smokefree. Strong public support for restrictions on smoking at work and indoors in public.
  • 1988: Amendment to Toxic Substances Act banned tobacco product sales to under 16yrs. Domestic airlines go smokefree.
  • 1989: Coalition to end tobacco advertising and promotion launched in Wellington. First announcement of Government intention to introduce legislation to ban tobacco advertising.
  • From 1985-1990, New Zealand had the most rapid rate of reduction in smoking consumption in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

1990s

In New Zealand:

• From 1990 -1998, tobacco tax was adjusted for inflation at least annually.
• 1990:
  • Smoke-free Environments Bill introduced to Parliament in May and passed into law in August 1990. Implementation of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (SFE), incorporated earlier bans and additionally:
    • placed restrictions on smoking in many indoor workplaces
    • required all workplaces to have a policy on smoking and to review that policy annually
    • placed bans on smoking in public transport and certain other public places, and restricted smoking in cafes, restaurants and casinos
    • regulated the marketing, advertising, and promotion of tobacco products and the sponsorship by tobacco companies of products, services and events
    • banned the sale of tobacco products to people under the age of 16 years (raised to 18 years in 1998)
    • provided for the control, and disclosure, of the contents of tobacco products.
    • established the Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) to replace tobacco sponsorship. The HSC introduced the Smokefree brand.
  • National Government takes office in October, promising to repeal the ban on tobacco sponsorship and advertising.
• 1991: Economic recession at its maximum. 17% price increase in cigarettes resulted in 15% decline in cigarette sales.
• 1992: Tobacco product consumption per adult is the lowest among OECD countries and affordability of tobacco products in New Zealand is the one of the lowest among these countries.
• 1993:
  • Environmental Protection Agency in USA says environmental tobacco smoke (ETS or SHS) causes cancer and is causal for glue ear.
  • Smoke-free Environments Act amended to allow existing tobacco sponsorships to continue until 1995 (2 years longer than in the initial legislation).
  • Australia prohibits tobacco sponsorships from 1995 bringing Australian and New Zealand policies in line.
  • Contract established with Te Hotu Manawa Māori to coordinate and strengthen tobacco control among Māori. Until this there was no-one working full-time on Māori smoking.
  • Smoking prevalence among adults at 27% – no decrease since 1989.
• 1994:
  • Launch of Auahi Kore programme, by Te Hotu Manawa Māori.
  • HSC begins to replace major tobacco sponsorships with smokefree sponsorships.
  • Public Health Commission sets a target for 20% adult smoking rate or less by 2000 - requiring further government intervention to be achievable.
• 1995:
  • 1 January: All tobacco product signs in shops come down.
  • 31 March: All Air New Zealand flights smokefree except for flights to Japan and Korea.
  • 1 July: All tobacco sponsorships end and sponsorship signs come down - a few exemptions until Dec 1995 included Winfield Cup Rugby League matches held in Auckland.
  • October: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill No.2 introduced into Parliament.
• 1996:
  • Census reveals that 23.7% of New Zealanders smoke.
  • Media campaign targeted at youth begins – Why Start? – and runs for 3 years at a cost of $1million annually.
  • 31 May: First national celebration of World Smokefree Day (WSFD). Held annually, WSFD is the only global event established to call attention to the health effects of using and being exposed to tobacco products.
• 1997:
  • Ligget tobacco company in USA admits tobacco causes cancer, heart disease and is addictive and also admits to marketing to children.
  • First national Smokefree Conference held in Wellington attended by 120 - theme "Consensus for a Smokefree New Zealand". Conference held again 1998 and biennially since.
  • Smokefree Coalition first receives government funding.
  • Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill No.2 passed in July, becoming the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act (1997), amending the Smoke-free Environments Act (1990) to:
    • ban sales of tobacco products to anyone under 18yrs (was previously 16yrs)
    • ban sales of cigarettes in packs of less than 20
    • clarify the regulatory powers of the Act to limit harmful constituents in tobacco products
    • ban incentives to retailers to promote tobacco products
    • reduce size of in-shop tobacco advertising.
• 1998:
  • September: Quitline and Quit/Me Mutu pilot campaign launched in Waikato and Bay of Plenty. At completion of six-month trial, 8500 calls were received, out of 100 000 smokers in the region.
  • Apārangi Tautoko Auahi Kore (ATAK) – Māori Smokefree Coalition, established.
• 1999:
  • Launch of national Quitline and Quit/Me Mutu campaign at the Public Health Association Conference.
  • Mid-1999 - launch of Aukati Kai Paipa, a two-year pilot cessation programme for Māori.
  • Introduction of Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill, which proposed greater protection for workers, volunteers and the public than the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, particularly against exposure to SHS.
  • First national Auahi Kore conference held in Wellington attended by 100 – conferences held biennially since.

2000 – the New Millennium

• 2000:
  • November – subsidised nicotine patches and gum available through the Quitline and via authorised community providers.
• 2001:
  • Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) further enhanced changes suggested by the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill.
  • Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill (a combination of the Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection ) Amendment Act 1999 and the SOP) referred to the Health Select Committee.
• 2003:
  • Agreement reached on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - the world's first public health treaty designed to reduce the health and economic effects of tobacco. Provides the basic tools for countries to enact comprehensive tobacco control legislation. Signed by New Zealand in June 2003. See www.fctc.org for more information on the FCTC and the ratification campaign.
  • Development and distribution of the National Māori Tobacco Control Strategy 2003-2007 and accompanying Action Plans.
  • 3 December: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill passed. Royal Assent received 10 December, becoming the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003.
• 2004:
  • 1 January: All buildings and grounds of schools and early childhood centres required to be smokefree.
  • 27 January: NZ ratifies FCTC, making the conventions and protocols outlined in the document, legally binding to NZ. As at 26 May 2005, 168 countries have signed and 66 have ratified.
  • 29 March: Ireland becomes first country to go completely smokefree in workplaces, banning smoking in all workplaces, including pubs, bars and restaurants.
  • 10 December: All licensed premises (bars, restaurants, cafes, sports clubs, casinos) and other workplaces (including offices, factories, warehouses, work canteens and 'smoko' rooms) become smokefree indoors in New Zealand.
  • All Australian states (with exception of the Northern Territory) make the announcement of the intention to go smokefree in 2006-2007 (announcement pending for South Australia)
• 2005:
  • 28 February: FCTC comes into force when the 40th country formally ratifies.
  • May: South Taranaki District Council is the first local authority in New Zealand to implement a policy discouraging smoking in Council owned swimming pools and outdoor surrounds, playgrounds and parks.
• 2006:
  • 30 May: The family of a dead Invercargill woman have lost a landmark case against British American Tobacco. Janice Pou lodged a $310,000 claim for damages against British American Tobacco before her death from lung cancer in 2002.
  • 31 May: Upper Hutt City Council becomes the second local authority to implement a policy discouraging smoking in Council owned reserves, playgrounds and parks. Many more councils begin to follow.
  • 11 July: The Smokefree Coalition takes British American Tobacco to the Commerce Commission alleging breaches of the Fair Trading Act over 'light' and 'mild' descriptors.
• 2007:
  • 13 February: Prime Minister Helen Clark says she finds the idea of taxpayers' money being invested in tobacco companies offensive.
  • 13 March: The Vodafone Warriors rugby league franchise announce they will be introducing smokefree outdoor seating areas to Mt Smart Stadium from the start of the season.
  • September: New Zealand, Ireland and Finland are jointly awarded the Global Smokefree Partnership's Extraordinary Award in Edinburgh, in recognition of their "exceptional and outstanding commitment" in the development of guidelines for Article 8 (Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke) of the FCTC.
• 2008:
  • 28 February: Regulations around graphic pictorial health warnings appearing on all tobacco packages sold in New Zealand come into force. Thirty percent of the front and 90 percent of the back of cigarette packets must be covered by graphic health warnings.
  • May 2008: Results from the Ministry of Health’s 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey - the largest survey of New Zealanders’ health ever completed - puts New Zealand’s smoking prevalence at a record low of 19.9 per cent for current smokers (aged 15 years and over).
  • 17 June: Txt2uit, a quit smoking programme by mobile phone is launched in New Zealand as a 'world-first'.