The purpose of this report is to:

• provide an overview of the nature of the legal and illicit tobacco markets in New Zealand, and
• provide an independent estimate of the size of the illicit tobacco market in New Zealand.

It reports on events occurring during the twelve-month period from January 2018 through to December 2018. 

Key findings:

• The total volume of tobacco consumption in New Zealand in the full year 2018 was 2.08 million kg. Compared to 2.09 million kg in 2017; a decrease of 0.09%
• Approximately 10.2% of total consumption (0.21 million kg) was estimated to be illicit, compared to 9.2% of total consumption (0.19 million kg) in 2017.
• If this 0.2 million kg of illicit tobacco had been consumed legally, it would have represented an estimated excise value of NZD 224.4 million.