The civil society award was given to the New Zealand government after the country fell from second in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, to 53rd.
The Dirty Ashtray is awarded to governments that have failed to protect their populations from nicotine by weakening strong policy and following pro-tobacco industry messages.
Recent NZ Health Survey data showed the number of students 15 and over who were smoking had stopped declining, and was at 6.8% compared with 6.9% the previous year, and 6.8% the year before that.
It comes as new research from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation also shows an increase in vaping.
The foundation survey showed daily vaping among 15 to 17-year-olds had climbed from 10.3% to 13.6% in the past year.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said the escalation in vaping had raised serious questions about whether present measures were "anywhere close to adequate".
"An increase like this doesn’t happen by accident," Ms Harding said.
"It tells us the protections in place simply aren’t enough."
The survey also showed vaping among 18 to 24-year-olds was also unacceptably high, at 23%.
These new figures reflected those from the foundation’s latest nationwide youth survey — the 2024 ARFNZ/SPANZ/NZAIMS Vaping in New Zealand Youth Survey — which found high vaping use among older secondary students.
In 2021, 17% of year 12 students and 13% of year 13 students reported vaping in the past seven days.
In 2024, those figures rose to 20% for year 12s and 26% for year 13s.
Foundation Māori community liaison and youth vaping educator Sharon Pihema said the new figures were a clear sign things were still heading in the wrong direction.
"A rise from 10.3% to 13.6% daily vaping in just one year shows how easily these products are still reaching our teenagers.
"The fact is, 15 to 17-year-olds aren’t legally old enough to purchase vapes, so this big increase shows the system has truly failed to protect them.
"If access was genuinely under control, we wouldn’t be seeing increases like this."
She said the foundation wanted to see the government halt the establishment of further specialist vape retailers, ban the sale of vapes in general retailer stores, limit the nicotine content of all vape products to 20mg/ml and re-examine the prescription model.
Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) global research and advocacy head and Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index principal author Dr Mary Assunta said the New Zealand coalition government’s repeal of smoke-free legislation had undermined long-held aspirations of returning to a nicotine-free society.
University of Otago Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre co-director Prof Janet Hoek said New Zealand was once a leader in global tobacco control policy.
"Now, our national shame is playing out on an international stage."
She said the proportion of young people reporting daily vaping was worrying.
"These percentages represent thousands of young people who are addicted to nicotine.
"The vast majority of these young people did not smoke and so were not using vaping to stop smoking.
"Instead, we are seeing rising nicotine use among youth."
Their addiction was "the inevitable consequence" of the wide-scale and aggressive marketing that targeted them with attractive colours, flavours, pricing strategies and product designs.
"We urgently need work that develops bespoke tools young people can use to stop vaping."
