Understanding the clinical evidence behind government-funded vaping programmes can help Australian patients and clinicians assess the role of therapeutic nicotine vaping in smoking cessation. In early 2025, New Zealand’s national health authority, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, rapidly scaled up its free vape distribution programme.
NZ Herald Article Key Takeaways
- Health New Zealand (Health NZ) has distributed more than 7,000 vaping devices and 67,750 pods in under two months as part of a government-funded smoking cessation programme.
- A $500,000 contract with New Zealand-owned Alt NZ Limited was signed in December 2024, replacing a previous pilot that supplied 3,000 kits at a cost of $575,000.
- During the original pilot programme, 1,400 of 3,000 participants successfully quit smoking — a meaningful, though not definitive, signal of clinical utility.
- New Zealand’s Asthma and Respiratory Foundation and General Practitioners Aotearoa have urged caution, noting the absence of long-term safety data and the risk of nicotine dependence.
- The alt. brand used in New Zealand’s programme is a TGA notified product and is available in Australia through authorised clinical pathways.
What Did New Zealand’s Free Vape Programme Involve?
Health NZ Te Whatu Ora launched a pilot programme distributing government-funded vaping kits to smoking cessation services across New Zealand before expanding to a full national rollout. Under a $500,000 contract signed with New Zealand-owned Alt NZ Limited in December 2024, health authorities dispatched 7,290 devices and 67,750 pods to cessation services within two months.
The programme represents a deliberate, government-endorsed harm reduction strategy, positioning therapeutic vaping as a structured clinical tool rather than a consumer product.
During the initial pilot, 3,000 people received a vaping kit. Of those participants:
- 1,400 successfully quit smoking
- This represents a 46% success rate, according to reporting by New Zealand media outlet Newstalk ZB.
While this outcome is clinically encouraging, it is important to note that observational pilot data of this nature does not constitute a controlled clinical trial. Long-term follow-up data on sustained abstinence rates, device dependency, and population-level harm remain limited
What Do New Zealand Medical Bodies Say About Therapeutic Vaping?
New Zealand’s Asthma and Respiratory Foundation has explicitly positioned vaping as a last-resort cessation option, reflecting clinical caution consistent with international guidelines. Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding noted that comparing the harms of smoking to vaping is not a comparison of a harmful product to a safe one, but rather one harmful product to a less harmful one. She stated that other nicotine replacement therapies including nicotine gum and patches should be trialled first, with vaping considered only when those approaches have failed.
Harding further raised concern about the allocation of public funds toward a product with no formal Medsafe approval, while regulatory-equivalent tools with approval such as nicotine spray products remain unfunded. This tension between pragmatic harm reduction and regulatory rigour mirrors debates occurring in Australia, where the TGA similarly notes that no nicotine vaping product is currently included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).
What Does the Evidence Show About Vaping for Smoking Cessation?
Nicotine vaping, when used as part of a structured cessation programme, has shown promise as a reduced-harm tool for smokers who have been unable to quit using first-line therapies. New Zealand’s smoking rate has experienced a notable decline since therapeutic vaping became more widely available in 2018, with the Vaping Industry Association of New Zealand citing a halving of the country’s daily smoking rate over that period. However, establishing a direct causal relationship between vaping uptake and smoking decline requires careful interpretation, as multiple policy, social, and economic factors contribute to population-level cessation trends.
How Does Australia’s Regulatory Approach Differ from New Zealand’s?
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) applies a stricter regulatory framework to nicotine vaping products than New Zealand’s Medsafe. Under the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Act 2024, which commenced on 1 July 2024, all vaping goods in Australia are regulated as therapeutic goods and must comply with specific product standards under TGO 110. Nicotine vaping products require either a prescription from an Authorised Prescriber or access via the TGA’s Special Access Scheme (SAS) pathway.
Unlike New Zealand’s programme, which distributes devices directly through health services without an individual prescribing relationship, Australia’s framework requires a clinician to assess each patient’s suitability before any therapeutic vaping product is supplied. This model prioritises clinical oversight, ensures weaning schedules are in place, and provides a direct line of accountability between the prescriber and patient. Only products included on the TGA’s notified vape list may be lawfully prescribed and supplied at Australian pharmacies.
From 1 October 2024, patients aged 18 years and over may access therapeutic vaping products with a nicotine concentration of 20 mg/mL or less from participating pharmacies without a prescription, subject to a pharmacist consultation and applicable state or territory conditions. A prescription from a medical or nurse practitioner remains required for nicotine concentrations greater than 20 mg/mL, for patients under 18 years of age, or where more complex clinical needs are identified. Australians are not permitted to import vaping products for personal use — all legal supply must occur through Australian pharmacies. Read the latest Australian Vaping Laws here.
How Can Australian Smokers Access Therapeutic Vaping Products?
Therapeutic nicotine vaping products in Australia are available through two primary access pathways: directly from a participating pharmacy for lower-concentration products, or via a prescription issued by an Authorised Prescriber for higher concentrations or more complex clinical presentations. The RACGP recommends that clinicians consider therapeutic vaping only after a patient has attempted first-line cessation therapies — including behavioural support, nicotine replacement therapy, or oral smoking cessation medicines such as varenicline or bupropion — without success.
Quit Clinics provides access to Australian Authorised Prescribers who can assess a patient’s clinical history and, where appropriate, prescribe therapeutic vaping products within a structured cessation programme. All prescriptions issued through Quit Clinics are accompanied by a nicotine weaning schedule, with the explicit aim of achieving full nicotine cessation within 12 months. Follow-up support is available throughout the prescription period at no additional cost.
The alt. Brand and Australia’s Therapeutic Vaping Framework
The alt. device, manufactured by New Zealand-owned Alt NZ Limited and central to Health NZ’s national distribution programme, is a TGA notified product and is available in Australia through authorised clinical supply channels. Read the full article here from NZ Herald: Health NZ hands out over 7000 free vapes in two months to help smokers quit.
