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• Smoking rates in New Zealand fall, according to Lancet study

• A Study Appropriate to Rising Smoking in India

• Find out what the study says

A population-based study in New Zealand published in the Lancet (2026) showed that the rate of smoking reduction increased fivefold after the official adoption of safer nicotine alternatives (such as regulated vaping); 13.5 crore in India smoking However, the dropout rate of those who do is less than 4%.

14-07-2026: Lancet Regional Health – According to the latest study published in Western Pacific, the fastest rate of smoking reduction has been recorded nationally. In New Zealand in the mid-twentieth century the daily smoking rate was about 40% among men and one-third among women. By 2015–16 this proportion had fallen to 15% due to conventional tobacco control measures. But this fell below 7% by 2022–23 after safe nicotine substitutes were officially recognized as a means of quitting in 2018/19.

What the researchers said

Using the statistical method joinpoint regression analysis, the researchers showed that the rate of smoking reduction increased fivefold from 3.5% to 17.9% annually. With 13.5 crore smokers in India, India has one of the largest tobacco- health burdens in the world. These findings provide an evidence-based context for India at the right time.

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Dr. Saurabh Tomar, MBBS, MD Pulmonary Medicine, Interventional Pulmonologist, Akash Healthcare, Dwarka, New Delhi, noted, “The Lancet study confirms what doctors see as a reality, the limits of traditional tobacco control. In New Zealand, despite implementing all the WHO’s measures of plain packaging, graphic warnings and a ten-year tax hike, smoking slowly declined. The real change came in 2018/19 when regulated, relatively less harmful nicotine alternatives were approved as a means of quitting and made available to adults. Science makes clear that the 7,000+ chemicals in tobacco that cause disease This difference should be seen in India’s policy of combustion, not nicotine.”

What the New Zealand study found

New Zealand experience shows that reducing adult smoking can also protect youth New Zealand experience shows that reducing adult smoking can also protect youth This balance is frequently debated in India’s regulatory debate. Daily smoking rates among 14–15-year-olds fell to historic lows despite regulations such as age limits (18 years), flavor limits, bans on disposables, and nicotine limits, although vaping among youth increased. The Lancet authors assert that although there is a decline in adults, smoking has not increased among youth. This makes it clear that the cause of the disease is not nicotine but combustion.

What do the experts say?

Dr. Satish Kumar, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Pacific One Health Hospital, New Delhi, says, “Although India and New Zealand differ geographically and in health systems, tobacco addiction and the pharmacological action of nicotine are universal. The Lancet study shows that traditional demand reduction measures, while necessary, are not sufficient to achieve rapid reductions, particularly among disadvantaged groups. New Zealand’s data show that the availability of regulated, relatively less harmful nicotine substitutes complemented conventional measures and accelerated progress that had only been slow for decades. India’s 13.5 million annual tobacco deaths are certain to There are no numbers, it depends on the policy.”

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What the study says

The Lancet study highlights an important distinction that is often confused in tobacco policy: reducing harm from burning tobacco and ending nicotine. These are two different objectives that require different frameworks, and if India combines them, the effects of withdrawal may be limited. Since 2009, the WHO has included nicotine replacement therapy in the list of essential drugs, while India’s DTAB has exempted 2mg nicotine gum under schedule K, making it clear that the cause of the disease is combustion, not nicotine.

There are 13.5 crore smokers in India, their quit rate is less than 4% and treatment facilities are inadequate. In such cases the New Zealand experience reported in the Lancet offers an evidence-based, balanced approach. The same statistical method that shows exactly when and how strongly national trends change confirms that harm reduction, that is, the availability of regulated and relatively less harmful nicotine alternatives, complements and accelerates traditional tobacco control measures that had only progressed slowly over decades.