Modelling the impacts of tobacco denicotinisation on achieving the Smokefree 2025 goal in Aotearoa New Zealand

AIM: To provide preliminary high-level modelling estimates of the impact of denicotinisation of tobacco on changes in smoking prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand relative to the New Zealand Government's Smokefree 2025 goal. METHODS: An Excel spreadsheet was populated with smoking and vaping prevalence data from the New Zealand Health Survey and we projected business-as-usual trends. Using various parameters from the literature (New Zealand trial data, New Zealand EASE-ITC Study results), we modelled the potential impact of denicotinisation of tobacco (with no other tobacco permitted for sale) out to 2025. In addition to the base case (considered most likely), Scenario 1 used estimates from a published expert knowledge elicitation process, and Scenario 2 considered the addition of extra mass-media campaign and Quitline support to the base case. RESULTS: With the denicotinisation intervention, adult daily smoking prevalences were estimated to decline to under 5% by 2025 for the European/Other ethnic grouping (in the base case and both scenarios) and in one scenario (Scenario 1) for Maori (2.5%). However, prevalence did not fall below 5% in the base case for Maori (7.7%) or in Scenario 2 (5.2%). In the base case, vaping was estimated to increase to 7.9% in the adult population by 2025, and up to 10.7% in one scenario (Scenario 1). CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary high-level modelling suggests that mandated denicotinisation has a plausible chance of achieving the New Zealand Government's Smokefree 2025 goal. The probability of success would increase if supplemented with interventions such as mass-media campaigns offering Quitline support (especially if predominantly designed for a Maori audience). Nevertheless, there is much uncertainty with these results and more sophisticated modelling is forthcoming.