The Ministry of Health demanded Stuff edit the morning quiz after seeing this shocking image
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
The Ministry of Health has threatened legal action against Stuff, unhappy about one of June’s Stuff quizzes.
Regulations Minister David Seymour criticised Ministry of Health staff for spending work time doing the Stuff Quiz instead of focusing on healthcare problems.
Stuff has replied to the Ministry stating it is confident we have not broken any law.
A Government ministry has taken the time to threaten legal action against Stuff, all over a photo of a 45-year-old magazine used in a Stuff Quiz.
Ministers have replied by urging their officials to use some “common sense” and spend less of their day focused on the Stuff Quiz.
(Stuff disagrees with some of this and invites all public servants to do the quiz every day. And to share their scores.)
On June 26, question five of the Stuff morning trivia quiz asked who appeared on the debut cover of Playboy magazine. To accompany the question, the quiz featured an archive image of a person reading Playboy.
That has offended a civil servant, who wrote to Stuff four days after the quiz was published threatening legal action on behalf of the Ministry of Health.
If Stuff refuses to comply with the ministry’s demands, it could face $2000 infringement fines followed by a $200,000 fine, the letter warned.
It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. That was just promising to give readers “an irresistible survey of saucy sisters”.
No, it was the back page which led to the threat. That page, from an archive copy of Playboy, featured an advert for a cigarette brand.
The Ministry wrote: “On 30 June 2026 a review of Stuff’s website was undertaken. It appears Stuff posted on its website (specifically, the Stuff morning quiz dated 26 June 2026), which included an image of KOOL brand cigarettes and the following promotional language, printed on the back cover of a Playboy magazine - Here is low ‘tar’ smoking satisfaction that plays to rave reviews. KOOL MILDS gives you a refreshing sensation that goes beyond the taste of ordinary low ‘tars’. There’s only one word for the KOOL experience: BRAVO!.”
The Ministry of Health doesn’t want you to see that part of the magazine. But we can tell you that the brand of cigarettes being advertised, KOOL, is not sold in New Zealand.
They believe that the image is prohibited under the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990.
They even asserted: “Enforcement officers may visit the Stuff website at any time to ascertain compliance.“
It should be noted that quizzers could only read the advert if they zoomed in on the screen. The photo would also disappear once they moved on to question six.
‘No wonder we’ve got problems with healthcare’
Regulations Minister David Seymour said he was worried about how much time the Ministry of Health staff were spending doing the Stuff quiz each day.
“Look, with all the problems with healthcare I would have thought the Ministry of Health could find something better to focus on.
“The real scandal here is, well, no wonder we’ve got problems in healthcare when they’re doing the Stuff quiz during work time,” he said.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello, who has responsibility for smoking and vaping policy, urged officials to use common sense.
“I’m not going to cut across the Ministry’s work as the regulator of [the Smokefree Act]. However, as in all areas, I’d like to see common sense involved – the Act is about preventing harm,” she said.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 bans the advertising of smoking and vaping products in New Zealand, with some exceptions.
Companies can reproduce advertisements featured in media from pre-1990, or as art, or in an attempt to encourage people to quit smoking.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said this did appear to be a relatively minor issue.
“We acknowledge that potential harm caused by this specific image is likely to be minimal, given its placement and prominence.
“More broadly there is strong evidence that the prevalence of tobacco images can contribute to normalising tobacco consumption,” they said.
The ministry spokesperson said all efforts to reduce the appeal of smoking could help improve health. “We appreciate all efforts taken to comply with Act, even in relatively minor instances,” they said.
This is the offending quiz:
What does Stuff say?
Stuff has replied to the Ministry stating it is confident we have not broken any law.
Stuff Digital Editor in Chief Keith Lynch said: 'While it is heartening to see the speed with which the Vaping and Tobacco Regulation team at the Ministry of Health has acted in this instance, it is difficult to understand how Stuff is, through a cropped image of a 45-year-old advertisement in its daily quiz, promoting the sale of a regulated product that is not for sale in New Zealand.
'Stuff has instructed the editor of its daily quiz to be more selective in the vintage advertisements occasionally used to illustrate its questions. We look forward to the same quick actions now being directed by the Vaping and Tobacco Regulation team towards the much-publicised sale of black market cigarettes and proliferation of vape shops in neighbourhoods around the country.'