New Zealand: Thousands of free vapes provided to help people stop smoking

New Zealand has initiated a pilot programme to help smokers quit by providing thousands of free vape kits to Stop Smoking Services across the country.

This initiative is similar to the Swap to Stop scheme in England, which was a world first when it was announced in April 2023. This national scheme was set up to provide almost one in five smokers in England with a vape starter kit to help them quit smoking as part of a series of measures introduced by the then government to meet the ambition of being smokefree by 2023 – reducing rates to 5% of less.

Free Flavoured Vapes

Starting in January 2025, free or discounted flavoured vapes are now also being provided in New Zealand as part of a publicly funded smoking cessation programme.  A total of 3420 vape kits has already been distributed across twenty-four stop smoking services at a cost of NZ$575,000.

The vapes provided are RELX Essential Vape and they have a nicotine concentration of 28.5mg/ml, which is the maximum allowed under New Zealand law.   At the end of the quit programme, the stop smoking service will access each participant’s progress and the likelihood that they will stay smokefree.

Heath New Zealand recommends that ‘vaping products that contain nicotine can be used to support smoking cessation or tobacco harm reduction.’

To support people in quitting, the Director-General of Health has issued public health messages about the use of vapes for quitting smoking.  And the guidelines for helping people to stop smoking state that ‘vaping products, especially those that contain nicotine, may help some people to stop smoking or to cut down as they can address both the nicotine dependence and behavioural aspects of smoking.’