As pressure grows for them to kick the habit, smokers face increasing taxes from January 1st.

In the tax on tobacco, a further increase will take place on Saturday.

On New Year's Day it goes up by 10 per cent and on January 1 in 2012 there will be the same again. When factory made cigarettes also went up by 10 per cent, it follows a 24 per cent rise at the end of April in the tax on loose-leaf tobacco.

To get people to stop, increasing the price of tobacco is the most effective way, University of Auckland Researcher Dr Marewa Glover says. But larger increases may be needed, she says.

She added, "I'm not sure the tax increase is big enough for people to say 'that's just way too much now I can't afford it. People are still absorbing these smaller price increases."

Consumption rates further will be brought down by further bans on smoking in public places. This will force people to give it a thought and also by moving towards a complete ban on the sale of tobacco, more results will be yielded.

A highly effective way of reducing tobacco consumption will be by taking nicotine out of cigarettes.