Daily smoking has fallen to a historic low in Australia, while vaping appears to have plateaued and new data highlights a growing shift towards illicit tobacco and emerging nicotine products.
Australia’s daily smoking rate has fallen to its lowest level on record, with just 5.6% of people aged 14 years and over now smoking every day, according to latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
The first findings from the 2025 National Drug Strategy Household Survey released today show smoking has continued its long-term decline, dropping from 8.3% in 2022-23 and 19.5% in 2001.
The figures equate to around 1.3 million daily smokers, compared with about three million in 2001.
Among adults aged 18 years and over, daily smoking fell to 5.8%, comfortably exceeding the federal government’s 2025 National Tobacco Strategy target of reducing adult smoking prevalence below 10%.
The survey, widely regarded as Australia’s gold standard measure of smoking, vaping and drug use, collected responses from more than 17,500 Australians aged 14 years and over between June and December 2025.
The decline in smoking was accompanied by the lowest recorded use of any nicotine product, with 15.2% of Australians reporting nicotine use in the previous year, down from 17.4% in 2022-23.
Vaping, which had risen sharply over recent years, appears to have stabilised. Daily e-cigarette use remained largely unchanged at 3.6%, compared with 3.5% in the previous survey, while overall current vaping fell from 7% to 6%.
The biggest shift occurred among young adults. Current e-cigarette use among 18-24-year-olds dropped from 20.6% in 2022-23 to 14% in 2025, driven largely by declines in occasional use, although daily vaping remained high at 8.3%.
Federal health minister Mark Butler said the results suggested the government’s tightening of vaping laws was beginning to have an effect.
“These results show our world-leading vaping reforms are making a difference, but we know there is still more work to be done to protect Australians from the harms of smoking and vaping,” he said.
The data release coincided with the government’s announcement that it would further restrict access to nicotine pouches.
From 24 July 2026, nicotine pouches will no longer be accessible through unapproved therapeutic goods pathways, including the Special Access Scheme, Authorised Prescriber Scheme and Personal Importation Scheme.
Individuals will also be prohibited from importing nicotine pouches, even with a prescription.
The Australian Medical Association welcomed the move but warned it must form part of a broader national response to illicit and emerging nicotine products.
AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen said some unapproved pouches contained very high doses of nicotine and should not be promoted as a safer alternative to smoking or as a proven cessation therapy.
“Some of these unapproved pouches contain huge doses of nicotine, much higher than what is absorbed smoking one cigarette. They should not be positioned as a ‘healthier alternative’ to smoking or as a proven smoking cessation therapy,” Dr McMullen said.
“The proposed reforms will help to stop nicotine pouches being promoted and supplied in the absence of adequate safety data, standardised health warnings, and child-resistant packaging.
“However, there is much still to be done by governments and enforcement agencies to prevent ready access to these unapproved and harmful products.
“Much of the promotion and sales occur via online and social media marketplaces, and cross-border e-commerce, so the effectiveness of the proposed amendments will require active monitoring, cooperation between regulators and platform and payment providers, and timely action to remove the adverts and products, as well as enforcement at our borders.”
Nicotine for human use is a Schedule 4 prescription-only medicine, but there are currently no nicotine pouch products included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
Dr McMullen said the effectiveness of the restrictions would depend on active monitoring of online and social media marketplaces, cooperation with digital platforms and payment providers, and stronger enforcement at the border.
The AMA also called for regulations framed around tobacco products to be updated to capture synthetic nicotine, alongside nationally consistent retail licensing, closure powers and better cross-jurisdictional data sharing.
The AIHW survey measured nicotine pouch use for the first time, finding 1.8% of Australians had used the products in the previous year. Uptake was highest among 18-24-year-olds, with 8.4% reporting nicotine pouch use and 3.8% reporting use of snus, a smokeless oral tobacco product.
While overall nicotine use declined, researchers noted Australians were increasingly using multiple nicotine products.
The proportion of users reporting three or more different nicotine products continued to increase, reflecting a more fragmented nicotine market despite falling smoking rates.
The survey also highlighted the growing scale of Australia’s illicit tobacco market.
One-third of current smokers, or 34%, reported recently using illicit tobacco, more than double the 16.7% recorded in 2022-23. About 22.6% reported purchasing branded illicit cigarettes lacking Australia’s plain packaging and health warnings within the previous three months, while 16.4% were using unbranded loose tobacco.
More than half of smokers buying illicit branded tobacco said they purchased it from tobacconists.
AIHW spokesperson Louise Gates said monitoring how people accessed nicotine products was becoming increasingly important.
“Tracking how people access tobacco and nicotine helps us understand emerging risks and identify where action is needed the most to protect the health of everyone in Australia,” she said.
Public health organisations said the findings demonstrated Australia’s long-standing tobacco control measures remained effective despite the growth in illicit trade.
Heart Foundation chief medical adviser Professor Garry Jennings AO said the record-low smoking rate was evidence that decades of tobacco regulation had saved lives.
“Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and death,” he said.
“Seeing the number of people who smoke fall to record lows is a win for preventive health and a reminder that we must fight hard to keep it low.”
Cancer Council Australia said the findings also undermined industry calls to reduce tobacco excise as a response to illicit tobacco.
Related
Cancer Council chief executive officer Jacinta Reddan said the survey showed Australia’s tobacco control policies continued to reduce smoking and should not be weakened.
“Illicit tobacco requires an enforcement and regulatory response, not a tax cut; we need to continue reducing demand for tobacco through proven public health measures while governments and authorities need to work together to disrupt the criminal networks supplying illicit products,” Ms Reddan said.
“Cutting tobacco tax won’t stop criminal operators selling illicit products. It will simply make all cigarettes cheaper, increase consumption and boost tobacco company profits.
“Meanwhile criminal supply chains, who pay no tax at all, will simply further undercut the regulated market.”
Public Health Association of Australia president Professor Caroline Miller said the long-term decline from almost one in five Australians smoking daily in 2001 was worth celebrating.
“We need to continue our efforts to help people quit, and to stop young people from starting a deadly habit that will kill two in three people and diminish their quality of life,” she said.
Despite the historic decline, tobacco remains Australia’s leading preventable cause of death, contributing to more than 24,000 deaths annually.
The AIHW will release a more detailed analysis of nicotine use in August, with results on alcohol consumption and illicit drug use due later in 2026.
See the report here.
