As of February 28th 2024, the New Zealand Coalition Government (National, NZ First & Act) have scrapped the previous Governments (Labour) Smokefree 2023 Amendments.

No reduction of tobacco retailers (which was scheduled to remove over 95% of current retailers, from 6,000 to under 600)
No permanent age-based restrictions on the sale of tobacco products (which was scheduled that anyone born on or after January 1st 2009 would never be allowed to buy tobacco products)
No reduction of nicotine in smoked tobacco products

The new Government have cited the potential major increase in black-market tobacco trade as well the major loss of employment across the country if the 2023 Amendments were put into force.
Additionally, the new Government have stated they will look to strengthen laws around the retailing of vape-products including the total ban on all disposable vape-products.

This is a major step-forward in restoring confidence to the Cigar and Pipe tobacco market in New Zealand; under the proposed 2023 Amendments – Cigar and Pipe tobacco retailers were almost certainly going to be legislated out of business in favour of dispersing the handful of tobacco retailer licenses to cigarette retailers.

In the face of the Opposition Government and Anti-Tobacco groups continued push that 68% of New Zealanders are “anti-smoking” the Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association of New Zealand are about to launch a revised website and undertake an approach to separate Cigar and Pipe smoking from the current Smokefree 2025 Act which currently treats cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking as the same habit.

It is our belief that the average New Zealander does not realise that the Smokefree Act 2025 also covers (blindly) cigars and pipe smoking; which now need to be recognised and separated from the overreaching draconian Smokefree 2025 Act once and for all.