Maori tobacco control advocate Zoe Hawke says the tobacco industry is amping up fears about the consequences of measures like increased taxation and plain packaging.

That explains the attention paid to stories about tobacco thefts, which are not a new problem.

She says plain packaging, which set to come in early next year, will be positive for efforts to bring down the Maori smoking rate.

"A lot of people focus on how plain packaging encourages people to quit and there is some research that shows that but for Maori, our (Hapai Te Hauora Maori public health) service is particularly interested in the fact it lowers uptake because if we want to disrupt this intergenerational addiction to tobacco we seem to ave we have to look at the next generation and find ways to prevent them taking it up," Ms Hawke says.