Background: The national Quitline service provides smoking cessation assistance (telephone counselling) and vouchers for heavily subsidised nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The Quitline is promoted with paid television advertising, which has been proven effective in stimulating calls. Evaluation work has also shown that the provision of NRT with counselling successfully enhances self-reported quit rates and is cost-effective.

Discussion: Despite evidence of the coverage/utilisation, general acceptability, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of the Quitline and subsidised NRT distribution programme, a number of concerns exist: • The use of the service by Pacific peoples is disproportionately less than for European/Pakeha New Zealanders and Mâori have lower NRT voucher redemption rates. • The service has limited capacity to increase its promotion during times of increased public interest in quitting (eg, at the time of the new smokefree law in December 2004). • The service has been constrained from advertising the availability of heavily subsidised NRT by concerns over increased demand.

Data and details describing these issues will be presented along with the context of tobacco tax revenue exceeding tobacco control spending by over $850 million a year in New Zealand.

Conclusion: The limitations with the New Zealand Quitline and NRT distribution programme are fundamentally related to its resourcing. A substantial increase in funding would help fulfil the government's health and equity objectives and reduce ethical concerns around tobacco tax on low-income smokers.