ban smoking!

At the end of the year, New Zealand did something very radical:

New Zealand has introduced a steadily rising smoking age to stop those aged 14 and under from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes in world-first legislation to outlaw smoking for the next generation. The number of stores legally allowed to sell cigarettes will be reduced to a tenth of their existing levels – from 6,000 to just 600 nationwide. The laws passed their final reading on Tuesday evening, and will come into force in 2023, as New Zealand attempts to reach its goal of making the country “smoke-free” by 2025.

New Zealand passes world-first tobacco law to ban smoking for next generation | New Zealand | The Guardian

Legislation passed by parliament on Tuesday means that anyone born after 2008 will never be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products. It will mean the number of people able to buy tobacco will shrink each year. By 2050, for example, 40-year-olds will be too young to buy cigarettes.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, who introduced the bill, said it was a step "towards a smoke-free future". "Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be NZ$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking," Dr Verrall said.

New Zealand passes legislation banning cigarettes for future generations - BBC News

Germany, for example, is way behind:

Data from 2020 shows that 23% of adult Germans smoke, which is still considerably higher than in New Zealand. One reason for this may have to do with the country's sluggishness in outlawing cigarette advertisements, which were only banned in print media and online in 2007, owing to EU pressure. It took German lawmakers until 2021 to decide that tobacco ads may be only shown in German movie theaters during screenings aimed exclusively at mature audiences.
And up until late 2021, cigarette billboards remained ubiquitous in German streets and at bus stops. Germany was the last EU members state to introduce a ban on such public cigarette marketing. Moreover, tobacco heater placards will only be banned in Germany from January 2023, whereas the use of E-cigarettes may still be publicly promoted until the end of 2023.

New Zealand's smoking ban — a precedent for others? – DW – 12/16/2022

The same piece points to Sweden:

Conversely, Swedish smoking rates are the lowest out of all EU member states. Yet these figures are somewhat misleading given that snus — a smokeless oral tobacco product — is widely used instead, especially among men. Snus is illegal in all EU states, except Sweden.
"Snus isn't harmless," says Doctor Schaller, "and likely linked to cancer." While potentially less harmful than smoking tobacco products, she says, snus is harmful in its own right and can also cause addiction.

New Zealand's smoking ban — a precedent for others? – DW – 12/16/2022

So, will tobacco companies just change direction?

The approach—focused on the creation of a so-called smoke-free generation—misses an important point, however: Cigarettes are already a waning choice for tobacco consumption. It’s instead smoke-free products such as vapes, e-cigarettes, or heated tobacco, that will create the next generation of nicotine addicts...
Modes of nicotine consumption such as vaping or heating are gaining popularity fast. In the US, for instance, a 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that as many as 20% of 12th graders in the US (typically aged 17 and 18) vaped daily, compared to as little as 12% who smoked.
New Zealand is following the same trend. In 2021, a survey published in the New Zealand Journal of Public Health found that vaping has a higher appeal than smoking among younger people. These aren’t former smokers: 80% of the teenagers who vaped at some point, and 50% of regular vapers had never smoked a cigarette before they began vaping, which voids claims of harm reduction associated with transitioning from cigarettes to smoke-free products...

While smoke-free tobacco products are likely less harmful than cigarettes, they are not shown to help quit tobacco use, and still carry health risks including lung disease, potential exposure to toxic substances, and harm to brain development and fetal health, not to mention the lifestyle and economic consequences of a highly addictive product. Further, smoke-free tobacco products are relatively young, and lack the long-term research that established the harmful impacts of smoking.

How does New Zealand's cigarette ban work?

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