New research suggests the government may have been over optimistic when it said that smoking is decreasing.
Last year's New Zealand Health Survey showed for the first time that just under 20% of adults smoked.
But a study published in the New Zealand medical journal disputes those figures, saying the number of cigarettes released to the market actually increased by 7%.
It says smokers tend to under report their smoking and future health surveys should include biochemical tests of a smoker's status.
It also says action is needed on roll your own cigarettes, with the government's losing around $300 million a year by not taxing roll your own tobacco the same per cigarette as factory made ones.
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