The study examines how governments worldwide are responding to interference by the tobacco industry and protecting their public health policies from the industry's commercial interests.
It found that "many countries" Parliamentarians, heads of state and ministers did not fulfil their duties to protect the human right to health.
"The tobacco industry persuaded them to challenge and delay tobacco control measures, file pro-industry bills or promote the TI instead of supporting evidence-based lifesaving measures to reduce all forms of tobacco use."
The report comes out every two years.
Cancer Society spokesperson, Emma Shields, says New Zealand's ranking this year is shocking but not surprising after the previous years, "considering what we have seen in our tobacco control laws in the last couple years."
Cancer Society New Zealand wrote the section of the report focusing on New Zealand, and discussed policy making between March 2023, and March 2025.
In the report, New Zealand was docked the "most deteriorated country" in tobacco industry interference.
The report said there were "several revolving-door connections between the current government and the tobacco industry."
It mentioned the Smokefree Amendment Bill introduced last February. In a 2024 statement, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said it was to "repeal three parts of the previous Government’s planned changes to regulate smoked tobacco."
"The last government was moving towards an untested regime that ignored how well quit smoking initiatives were working, and the potential downside of taking a prohibitionist approach for smokers, or for retailers and crime."
Other factors mentioned include the tax breaks for tobacco companies and the movement of staff between politics and the lobbying industry.
"This report identified a number of connections between our government officials and parliamentary workers who have connections or previously worked in the tobacco industry-affiliated organisations," Shields said. "So that contributed to our score."
This morning, Costello told RNZ the index was "ridiculous", and that what matters is the rates of smoking and how much pressure is put on the tobacco industry.
However, co-founder of Vape Free Kids, Charyl Robinson, told RNZ's Morning Report the Minister's response showed that she was "dismissing it with the same disdain that she showed with the advice for her own officials."
"And this pattern of ignoring evidence and doing the opposite of official advice is exactly how we've ended up flipping from world leader…to a global embarrassment."
The Cancer Society said we are going backwards.
"It's ranking us compared to the methodology or a survey that we have completed for four reports now."
"While we always, I guess, noted that more could be done to protect New Zealand from the tobacco industry…our reports have always called for more measures or more protections against tobacco industry interference.
"This report is showing why those measures are more important than ever."