The proportion of year 10 Otago pupils who have never smoked a cigarette has more than doubled in the last 10 years, according to the annual Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) snapshot survey.
In 1999, 29.6 % of the 1621 pupils surveyed identified themselves as having never smoked, a proportion which had risen to 61.7% when 1488 pupils took part in the survey last year.
Otago, along with West Coast, South Canterbury, Canterbury and Northland district health board areas, had the greatest increase in the proportion of pupils who had never smoked during the last four years.
The report shows national smoking rates continue to decline, although not as rapidly as they did between 2003 and 2005.
The likelihood of a pupil being a smoker in New Zealand last year was about 1 in 14 compared with 1 in 10 in 2004.
Ash director Ben Youdan said while the decline in youth smoking had been a real success story, there was a need to ensure students remained smoke-free for life.
People could not afford to become complacent.
"The pressure needs to be kept on and more needs to be done to ensure the successes flow through to the adult smoking rates".
The percentage of pupils identifying themselves as regular smokers has more than halved in Otago since 1999, with last year's survey results showing 11.4% of the pupils who took part said they were regular smokers compared with 30.5% in 1999.
Pupils who report smoking daily, weekly or monthly are termed regular smokers.
Nationally, they made up 12% of the pupils surveyed.
More than 30,000 pupils took part in the anonymous self-administered survey, almost half of the country's year 10 pupils (aged 14 and 15).
When Otago's survey results are compared with the other 20 district health board areas, it has the eighth-lowest rate of regular smokers, with Auckland recording the lowest at 7.8% and Wairarapa the highest at 21.7%. In 1999, Otago was ranked 14th.
In Southland, where 833 pupils took part last year, the regular smokers percentage is higher than Otago at 14.5%, and its rate is 16th.
Its placing has not changed much since 1999 when it shared the 15th spot, with pupils from the Lakes District Health Board area (31.9% of 879 pupils).
The survey report notes that, compared with the rest of the world, New Zealand youth smoking rates at around 10% are low.
Malaysia, Germany, the Cook Islands, Belarus and Timor-Leste have rates of more than 30% for 13- to 15-year-old boys.
In the Cook Islands, 50% of 13- to 15-year-old girls smoke, but the percentage of 14- to 15-year-old Pasifika girls in New Zealand who say they smoke regularly is 16%.
• Waihola Black Swan Takeaways and Tearooms owner Myra Clarke has been awarded the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation smokefree retailers award after she decided to stop selling tobacco in her store.
She was concerned about the health impacts of cigarettes and the penalty fees the tobacco industry charged if retailers did not order enough product.
> Teenagers from lower decile schools have significantly higher smoking rates.
> Maori boys and girls have the highest smoking rates, while Asian pupils have the lowest.
> A higher percentage of girls ( 8%) than boys (6%)smoke daily.
> One parent who smokes triples the risk of a pupil being a daily smoker.
> The survey suggests some smoking parents are making the effort to smoke outside.
