New Zealand bans anyone born after 2008 from ever buying cigarettes
New Zealand will phase in an almost total tobacco ban from next year, banning anyone born after 2008 from ever buying cigarettes and reducing the amount of nicotine in products sold in the meantime.
Under the legislation passed by parliament on Tuesday, cigarettes will be much weaker, harder to buy and permanently unavailable to anyone currently under 14.
The legislation effectively raises the smoking age every year, and is designed to almost immediately reduce the number of people who use tobacco products.
The new rules are a step “towards a smoke-free future”, according to cabinet minister Ayesha Verrall, who was the driving force behind the legislation.
“Thousands of people will live longer and healthier lives and the health system will be NZ$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) better off from not having to treat diseases caused by smoking, like many types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations,” she said in a statement.
The number of adult smokers in New Zealand is already relatively low at just eight per cent.
However, the “Smoke Free Environments” bill passed Tuesday is intended to reduce that number to less than five percent by 2025.
Along with a rising age limit, the new law will reduce the number of retailers who can sell tobacco products to a maximum of just 600 nationwide, a huge drop from the actual figure of 6,000.
It will also reduce the amount of nicotine in tobacco products.
“This means that nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” said Verrall.
Critics have warned that New Zealand’s strict policy could fuel an unregulated illegal market in tobacco products.
The new laws do not ban vape products.
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