Dr Rosemary Leonard explains that research late last year by Public Health England shows that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than traditional cigarette smoking.

Kylie Henley and her husband spend about $150 a week between them on cigarettes.

The Far North mother-of-three says another 10 per cent increase in cigarette excise tax, being introduced on January 1, will be hard to swallow.

"They are costing a fortune...I'm not a super heavy smoker but because it's an addiction, it makes it ten times harder."

In 2006, a 25-pack of cigarettes cost $11.95. From tomorrow, the price will be near $40.

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Since 2009, tax per cigarette has increased from 30c to 82c.

Henley said taxes were not the right way to encourage people to quit. She has smoked since she was 16 and cigarettes were less than $10 a pack.

"In my opinion, the higher the increase the more robberies that are going to occur...My husband works 70-hour weeks to pay for his habit/addiction and I think it is very unfair of the government to make them cost so much if they want the beneficiaries to stop then don't allow them to buy smokes don't punish the hard-working people."

A spokeswoman for British American Tobacco said 75 per cent of the purchase price of cigarettes now went to the government in tax.

The increases are part of measures to reduce the number of New Zealand smokers, which has dropped from 20 per cent of the general population in 2006/2007 to 16 per cent.

Researcher Jess Berentson-Shaw, of think tank The Workshop said it did work, alongside other effective policies.

SUPPLIED Kylie Henley has been smoking since she was 16 and is worried about bearing the cost of another tax increase.

"Policies that include freely available and effective quit services that are tailored to the needs of different groups," she said.

"We must however be cognisant of the impact a blunt instrument like tax has on equity. If the greatest impact on reducing smoking rates are for those who smoke least then policy-makers need to commit to investing in tools that empower and enable those most impacted by smoking. For young Māori women for example does tax work in the same way as for Pākehā?

"Given they have the highest rate of smoking what investments are we making alongside tax increases to empower them to quit and even better still not start? What do these young women say they need? What works for them? Are we committing to ensuring they have rates as low as other groups?"

Tim Barnett, chief executive of budgeting advisers' support organisation FinCap, agreed increasing the price was just one method of tackling smoking.

"There is certainly evidence from financial mentors that the sheer cost of smoking - given the cost of the necessities of life - can be the trigger for people to quit. Of course it is very tough to be increasing prices for a habit which many people find near impossible to break. So it is vital that the cost of breaking the habit can be kept as low and as attractive as possible to make it as easy as possible to quit – including a place for vaping. That's as important as the taxation approach."

Another smoker, Crystal Sinclair, said she smoked because it relieved her depression "and handling two young children. But with increases [it] makes it not very affordable to the point I will have to quit because of it."

She spent about $170 a week on smoking at the moment.

Tash Cotterill-Haenga, meanwhile, said she would consider switching to roll-you-own tobacco to save money. "I'm not a heavy smoker."