Rather than having their paycheck go up in smoke, more and more New Zealanders are kicking the habit.

Today is World Smokefree Day, and Quitline is celebrating the 40,000 New Zealanders who signed up to stop smoking in the past year.

Chief Executive Paula Snowden said policy around quitting smoking has been effective.

"It's all credit to the policies that successive governments have put in place in New Zealand. From pricing and advertising removal, age restrictions and the cessation programme - together they all work."

In the last decade smoking rates have dropped from 24% to 15% of the population.

Paula Snowden says they still have work to do to lower that further.

"Some areas of the country where more people smoke - that's where we've got to get next to make smoking not part of their lives."

Paula Snowden says quitting smoking is hard work, but with the right support it can be done.