82116 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

82116 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by her statement “we need to target the right people, especially older smokers and Māori and Pacific peoples, if we are to get the smoking rate below 5 per cent by the end of next year,” if so, will she commit to achieving a less than 5% daily smoking rate in those population groups by December 2025?

Hon Casey Costello: Yes I stand by that statement. This Government remains committed to the Smokefree 2025 goal. In November 2024 I released the new ‘Getting to Smokefree 2025’ plan, which sets out our priorities and approach for the next year to achieve the Smokefree 2025 goal. It will focus on key intervention points along the smokefree continuum and target those populations with the highest smoking rates.