The short version
- Daily smoking in Australia fell to a record-low 5.8% of adults, and daily vaping has flattened out at 3.6% of people aged 14 and over instead of climbing again.
- The exception is young adults. Among 18-to-24s, 8.4% used nicotine pouches in the past year and 3.8% used snus, even as their vaping fell.
- From 24 July 2026 the legal routes to buy nicotine pouches close, right as the survey shows demand for them rising in exactly the group the ban is aimed at.
What the 2025 count actually shows
For years Australia has leaned hard on cigarettes, then on vapes. The 2025 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the country’s big recurring nicotine and drug count run by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, says the pressure is paying off on the headline number. Daily smoking among adults is down to 5.8%, comfortably under the government’s target of getting it below 10%. Across everyone aged 14 and up it sits at 5.6%. Put another way, about 1.3 million Australians smoke daily now, against roughly 3 million back in 2001.
Vaping is the more interesting read. After years of year-on-year growth, daily e-cigarette use has essentially stopped rising: 3.6% of people 14 and over, barely moved from 3.5%. Health Minister Mark Butler, who released the figures on 17 July, tied the plateau to the government’s vaping crackdown. The survey drew on more than 17,500 people interviewed between June and December 2025.
The 2025 snapshot
| What was measured | Where it landed |
|---|---|
| Daily smoking, adults 18+ | 5.8% (record low; target was under 10%) |
| Daily smokers, all ages | about 1.3 million (down from ~3 million in 2001) |
| Daily vaping, 14+ | 3.6% (up a hair from 3.5%, effectively flat) |
| Current vaping, ages 18-24 | 14% (down from 20.6% in 2022-23) |
| Any nicotine product, 14+ | 15.2% (down from 17.4%) |
| Nicotine pouches, ages 18-24 (past year) | 8.4% |
| Snus, ages 18-24 (past year) | 3.8% |
Where the young adults went
Block one door and the habit looks for another. That is the story hiding under the good headline. Current vaping among 18-to-24s dropped sharply, from 20.6% in 2022-23 to 14%, but oral nicotine moved into the gap. 8.4% of them reached for pouches in the past year, another 3.8% for snus, small sachets tucked under the lip that pass nicotine through the gum instead of the lungs. Across all ages, pouches are still a fringe habit at just 1.8%, so this really is a young-adult phenomenon. Overall use of any nicotine product eased from 17.4% to 15.2%.
Skipping the lungs does not make a pouch harmless. There is no aerosol to argue about, sure, but the nicotine still crosses the mouth’s lining and hooks just as hard.
What changes on 24 July
From 24 July 2026, the supply lines for pouches get cut. The change shuts the “unapproved therapeutic goods” pathways that had quietly kept them available: the Special Access Scheme, the Authorised Prescriber Scheme, and personal importation. Bringing in a tin from overseas is blocked too. Butler put unlawful sellers on notice and promised the enforcement would keep coming rather than fade after the headlines.
The black market behind it all
The pouch decision sits inside a bigger and messier problem: an illicit nicotine trade that has grown fast. By the 2025 survey, roughly one in three smokers were buying black-market cigarettes, double the share reported in 2022. Poly-use is climbing too, with people using three or more nicotine products tripling since 2019.
That is the harder fight. Some voices push to cut the tobacco excise so legal cigarettes can compete on price, but Australia’s illicit-tobacco enforcement officials argue a price cut does nothing to break organised-crime supply chains. The Australian Council on Smoking and Health wants the emphasis on enforcement instead: more coordinated pressure across states to actually pull the distribution networks apart. Banning pouches is the easy half. Policing the market that keeps refilling is the part still unsolved.
Sources:
- ABC News, “Vaping on decline as smoking rates hit historic low”
- The Medical Republic, “Smoking hits record low”
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, “Australia’s smoking rates declining”
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about any medical condition or before making health decisions.