STOCKHOLM (News Desk) – International public health experts have hailed New Zealand’s bold and evidence-based approach to reducing smoking, praising Associate Health Minister Casey Costello for her powerful parliamentary defence of harm reduction strategies that have helped bring the country to the brink of achieving official smoke-free status.
In her recent speech, Costello strongly criticized ideological opposition and “scaremongering” around safer nicotine alternatives, highlighting their critical role in slashing smoking rates in New Zealand. The country has nearly halved its adult smoking rate from 13.1% in 2011 to just 6.9% in 2024, with projections placing it among the first in the world to achieve a smoke-free threshold — defined as a daily smoking rate below 5%.
Dr. Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden and former Secretary-General of the World Medical Association, praised the minister’s leadership: “New Zealand has done in less than a decade what many countries have tried and failed to do for generations. This is what public health leadership should look like — grounded in science, not fear.”
New Zealand’s strategy includes integrating vaping into quit-smoking services, an approach inspired by Sweden’s success with oral nicotine alternatives like snus and pouches. Sweden currently boasts the lowest smoking rates in the EU and correspondingly low levels of smoking-related disease.
Associate Minister Costello emphasized a compassionate, evidence-based approach, stating that long-term addicted smokers deserve effective support — not stigma or punishment. She advocated moving away from “virtue-signalling catchphrases” and toward real solutions that deliver measurable health outcomes.
Quoting global health expert Professor Robert Beaglehole, she echoed that New Zealand is “leading the world in reducing smoking,” and is serving as a model for other nations seeking practical ways to address tobacco addiction.
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Dr. Human added: “Minister Costello deserves global recognition for refusing to back down in the face of prohibitionist pressure. Her focus on harm reduction shows how courageous, science-driven policy can save lives.”
Smoke Free Sweden has called on policymakers around the world to learn from New Zealand’s success and adopt similar harm reduction approaches to fast-track progress toward global smoke-free goals.
The message is clear: when governments prioritize compassion, science, and practical solutions over fear and ideology, extraordinary public health progress is not only possible — it’s inevitable.
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