Smokefree advocates in the Bay of Plenty say black-market tobacco products are becoming increasingly common within Māori communities, warning the combination of cheap illicit cigarettes and the rollback of smokefree protections risks reigniting smoking harm across the region.
Reports of illicit tobacco products being sold in towns including Rotorua, Tāneatua and Tauranga have prompted renewed concern among regional health advocates and smokefree coalitions.
Aporina Chapman, Kaiwhakahaere Auahi Kore for Regional Māori Health Services Te Moana a Toi, said the growing visibility of black-market tobacco products was deeply concerning for communities already disproportionately affected by smoking-related harm.
“The Black Market is in our region,” Chapman said.“Reports from our smokefree enforcement officers indicate the industry is growing rapidly in the Bay of Plenty region as it’s a lucrative business,” she said.
Chapman (Mātaatua, Te Arawa) said a major concern was the Bay of Plenty’s connection to the country’s busiest import hub.“Tauranga has the biggest shipping port in the country, unfortunately, with limited Customs officers to monitor what comes into the country legally.”
“These overseas products are cheap and appeal to our whānau however, we have no idea what’s in them. Furthermore, they are laced with high nicotine levels which creates the addiction.
”The concerns come amid ongoing debate around the Government’s repeal of smokefree reforms, including plans to reduce nicotine levels, cut the number of tobacco retailers and create a smokefree generation policy.
While some Government ministers argued stricter smokefree laws risked fuelling black-market tobacco activity, Chapman rejected that claim.“I disagree,” she said.
“The current government repealed world-leading measures. This resulted in Aotearoa New Zealand failing to achieve Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 - years and years of hard work lost.”
Ben Youdan, director of ASH Action for Smokefree, told Pūkāea fears around illicit tobacco growth under stricter smokefree laws were “legitimate”.
“If all cigarettes were ordered to be nicotine-free, it is unlikely nicotine cigarettes would disappear, rather they would shift to the black market,” Youdan said.
“Basically, every nicotine cigarette would be illicit.”Youdan said New Zealand’s illicit tobacco market remained relatively small compared with Australia, but warned illegal supply chains posed risks beyond smoking itself.
“The illicit supply chain doesn’t worry about ethics or age verification,” he said.
“Fake cigarettes might be even more harmful with contaminants like mould, or even mouse [faeces].”
Nigel Barnes, Chief Customs Officer Fraud and Prohibition for New Zealand Customs, said tobacco smuggling had increased significantly in recent years, driven by demand and profit.“Tobacco smuggling has been on the rise over the past few years, linked to high prices and demand in New Zealand,” Barnes said.
“Customs is seeing an increase in large seizures of illicit cigarettes and tobacco, both large and small, and through multiple channels, such as air and sea cargo and through international mail.”
Barnes said Customs seized 14.8 million cigarettes and more than eight tonnes of loose tobacco in 2025, a sharp increase on previous years.
The figures were up from 9.2 million cigarettes and 2.7 tonnes of loose tobacco seized in 2024.
He said organised crime groups were increasingly adding tobacco smuggling to wider criminal operations.
“There might be a sentiment out in the community that illicit tobacco is not actually a serious problem and that it’s great that people can get cheaper cigarettes,” Barnes said.
“But what most people are finally starting to realise is that they themselves are actually being exploited by organised crime and helping the criminals line their pockets.”
Chapman said Māori and Pasifika communities were at particular risk.
“Te Huinga Auahi Kore and Te Patuwai Māori Women’s Welfare League are hugely concerned regarding black-market or unregulated tobacco availability in most Māori communities,” she said.
“It’s like history about to repeat itself, particularly for Māori whānau.”
She said years of prevention-focused tobacco control work had been undermined by funding shifts and policy changes.
“We are seeing very little effort put into health promotion and prevention, particularly stopping the uptake of smoking in the first place for Māori and Pasifika whānau,” Chapman said.
“The inequity gap just gets wider.”
Youdan said Māori smoking rates had fallen rapidly in recent years, largely due to vaping uptake and smoking cessation efforts, but agreed cost-of-living pressures were helping drive demand for cheaper illicit products.
“It incentivises the illicit market because there is a lot of profit to be made, even by selling a pack at $25 compared to $40-$50 in a shop,” he said.
Chapman said Māori smoking rates remained disproportionately high and continued to place pressure on the health system.
“Smoking rates for Māori is almost three times higher than New Zealand European/Pākehā.”
She said stronger enforcement, more smokefree officers and greater community mobilisation were urgently needed to protect whānau from addiction and unregulated tobacco products.
People aware of suspected illicit tobacco sales are being encouraged to report them confidentially to Customs or anonymously through Crimestoppers.
Pūkāea sought comment from Associate Health Minister Casey Costello on concerns raised about illicit tobacco and the Government’s smokefree policy changes. No response was received by publication time.
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