Thursday, 15 April 2021, 5:12 pm The College of Public Health Medicine welcomes the announcement by the Government of the development of a Smokefree 2025 Action Plan to speed the country towards achievement of its Smokefree 2025 goal. As a country, we are making progress to reduce the level of smoking, says College President Dr Jim Miller. But we are not yet on target to meet the 2025 goal. Smoking remains a leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand, contributing to the deaths of more than 4500 people in New Zealand every year. It is also linked to many diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive respiratory disease,