NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Cigarette poverty: Kiwi smokers reusing 'horrible' tobacco as prices soar

NZ Herald
18 Jun, 2021 03:12 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Smokers are being forced to reuse tobacco as prices soar in New Zealand. Photo / Andy Brew

Smokers are being forced to reuse tobacco as prices soar in New Zealand. Photo / Andy Brew

New Zealand's war on tobacco and its ill-fated smoke-free goal for 2025 is causing poorer Kiwi smokers more harm than good.

With the country's tobacco prices second only to Australia's as the most expensive in the world, the most vulnerable in society are resorting to reusing tobacco that has already been smoked.

As most reused tobacco is left at the very end of the cigarette, it will have already been contaminated further by the toxins in the smoke that attach to the unsmoked tobacco.

With this tobacco containing up to four times more harmful chemicals than fresh tobacco, several cigarette-ends then rolled into a recycled cigarette can have up to 20 times more toxins than a normal cigarette.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey's director of the Tobacco Dependence Program and author of the research paper "Cigarette Relighting Tied to Tough Economy", Dr Michael Steinberg said in difficult economic times, increasing numbers of smokers are relighting
- reusing - the end portion of the cigarette that is typically discarded.

"Smokers who relight cigarettes may be at higher risk of lung cancer and chronic bronchitis," he said.

"That is something of which policy makers need to be aware."

Dr Steinberg said rising tobacco prices disproportionately affect beneficiaries.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"While the relighting of cigarettes is a relatively unexplored smoking behaviour, it was anticipated that certain economic characteristics, such as lower education and lack of employment, would be related to a higher level of relighting."

Several beneficiaries spoken to by the Herald told of physical and mental health problems associated with re-using tobacco.

"Tobacco keeps going up and this is what it comes to, rolling up cigarette butts," said
Frankie Docherty as he emptied discarded cigarette ends into a rolling paper.

When asked how it made him feel, Doherty said: "It's horrible on the chest and it makes me feel like crap.

Discover more

Lifestyle

Will a vegan diet really make your kids 'weaker and shorter'?

13 Jun 11:29 PM
Lifestyle

The health benefits of coffee

18 Jun 08:20 PM
New Zealand|education

'Checking the number of feet': Principal's drastic measure to find students vaping

17 Jun 10:00 PM
Lifestyle

Are alcohol-free spirits the answer this Dry July?

27 Jun 10:00 PM

"It's not good for my health or dignity."

Other smokers said they often forego healthy food in favour of tobacco and cigarettes.

Two other beneficiaries, who asked not to be named, said they had spent the morning walking the city centre streets looking for cigarette ends and asking smokers if they could spare some tobacco and said their addiction was their priority,

"It's really expensive [tobacco], It's really hard for beneficiaries and takes most of our money," one said.

"We would rather buy smokes than having food," added the other.

Two of the biggest killers in New Zealand, particularly in the lower socio-economic sections of society are heart disease and diabetes, both of which can be as a result of unhealthy diets.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
New Zealand has cigarette prices second only to Australia in the world. Photo / NZ Herald
New Zealand has cigarette prices second only to Australia in the world. Photo / NZ Herald

A 2020 study carried out by University of Canterbury Health Sciences PhD student Ben Wamamili, found that the rate of students smoking across eight New Zealand universities was just 8.4 per cent, compared to the national figure of 13 per cent.

Those spoken to by the Herald said it was a generational awareness of the adverse health effects and the changing social image of smokers rather than the price that deterred them from smoking.

Christchurch student Molly Swift said it was easy to explain whether it was health issues or pricing issues that deterred her from smoking,

"Definitely health effects. I don't see any benefits in smoking, and I think it's seen as unattractive nowadays," she said.

ACT leader David Seymour has long been against the continuing rise of tobacco taxes having previously said they are an attack on the country's poorest and have little or no effect of deterring those already addicted.

"Tobacco taxes are failing to reduce smoking levels," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Despite virtually doubling the rate of excise, smoking rates have fallen by only a few percentage points.

Smokers who cannot afford to purchase cigarettes or tobacco are reusing already-smoked product. Photo / NZME file
Smokers who cannot afford to purchase cigarettes or tobacco are reusing already-smoked product. Photo / NZME file

"A new EY report commissioned by the Government shows fewer than half of smokers have responded to tax increases by buying fewer tobacco products.

"More concerning is the fact that one in 10 lower-income households are going without the basics in order to buy tobacco.

"Tobacco taxes are quite literally taking food out of the mouths of some of the poorest children in this country."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Kahu

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

12 May 07:16 PM
New Zealand

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

New Zealand

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

12 May 07:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

12 May 07:16 PM

Foster faced intense media pressure but credited his whānau for support.

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

12 May 07:00 PM
Child ended up in Starship while living in damp Kāinga Ora home

Child ended up in Starship while living in damp Kāinga Ora home

12 May 07:00 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP