Labour pledges to bring back Smokefree Generation policy, with one key change
Labour will reinstate its Smokefree Generation policy if it returns to government after the 2026 election, health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall announced at a Health Coalition Aotearoa panel discussion held in Parliament's Legislative Council Chamber. RNZ
The policy, passed under the previous Labour government, would have stopped anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 from ever buying tobacco. That law — the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 — was repealed by the coalition government. Labour leader Chris Hipkins first flagged bringing the policy back in a 2024 speech.
The reinstated version differs from the original in one important way. Verrall said it would no longer seek to reduce nicotine in tobacco products to very low levels, citing concerns about a black market. The denicotinisation measure — cutting nicotine content so low that cigarettes are barely addictive — had been a core part of the 2022 law.
Labour's policy would also reverse the government's heated tobacco policy, which halved the excise tax on heated tobacco products. In addition, Labour said it would bring in a single licensing system covering both tobacco and vape products.
The political lines on tobacco have been sharply drawn since National's repeal. Labour has repeatedly attacked the decision: in February 2024 it accused National of trashing the smokefree generation for tax cuts; in November 2024 it said smoking numbers had risen under Associate Health Minister Casey Costello; and in November 2025 it criticised National for what it called handing a $300 million tax break to a tobacco company and scrapping laws that would have created a smokefree generation. Labour Party
Costello, who holds the associate health portfolio responsible for tobacco policy, said she would not support changing the heated tobacco excise policy. She argued that reduced-harm pathways — giving smokers less harmful alternatives — are the best way to get people to stop smoking. She did say she supported a common licensing policy for tobacco products.
The Greens' health spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said she supported reinstating the Smokefree Generation policy and its stricter licensing approach. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she also supported reinstating the policy.
On the government side, ACT's Todd Stephenson said ACT was open to considering a common licensing policy for tobacco products but it was not ACT policy.
The broader context here is a policy landscape that has swung substantially in two years. The 2022 law was seen internationally as a landmark in tobacco control. Its repeal removed three mechanisms: the smokefree generation cohort ban, the denicotinisation requirement, and a drastic cut to the number of authorised tobacco retailers. Labour is now proposing to bring back the first of those, drop the second, and pair both with a combined tobacco-and-vape licensing regime.
Dropping the very low nicotine content measure is the sharpest departure from the original policy and is likely to shape how public health advocates respond. Verrall's framing, centred on black-market risk, suggests Labour has weighed enforcement concerns against the public health case that drove the original law.
For those working in and around Parliament, the cross-party reception is worth noting. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori support reinstatement, which gives the policy a potential path through Parliament if Labour leads a government after 2026. On the coalition side, Costello's openness to licensing but firm defence of the heated tobacco excise cut suggests tobacco policy is not settled even within government. ACT's qualified interest in licensing, while stopping well short of backing it, adds another variable.
