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New Zealand has been labelled "most deteriorated" in an international study assessing the interference of the tobacco industry.
The country has plummeted from second in the world in 2023 to 53rd in the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.
The report, produced by the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, has been released every two years since 2019 and now ranks 100 countries.
The main factors damaging New Zealand's standing are the repeal of the smokefree generation laws, the tax break benefiting tobacco giant Philip Morris and the movement of staff between politics and the lobbying industry.
Vape-Free Kids, an advocacy group, said the "staggering drop" of 51 places in two years was the most dramatic fall of any country in the history of the report and an "international disgrace" for the government.
"New Zealand has become an
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