Per NY Times
New Zealand is implementing a law to help it reach its goal of eliminating most smoking by the year 2025. This new law would ban people born after 2008 from buying cigarettes.
The new legislation takes a different approach to the country's goal to eliminate smoking by 2025. Instead of changing where and when cigarettes can be bought and sold, the new approach will ban everyone born after 2008 from purchasing cigarettes.
While people born after 2008 are at least 14 years old and below, when they reach the legal age to purchase cigarettes at 18 years old, they will still not be able to buy cigarettes in their lifetime. The new extensive legislation will take effect in 2023.
The initial blueprint for this new legislation started in 2011 when the country announced that it plans to reduce smoking levels to less than 5% of the population by 2025. One of the country's actions to help reduce smoking was to increase cigarette prices.
The most expensive cigarette is a pack of Rothmans Premium King Size Filter, which costs $47.60 on the Discount T website. The cheapest pack of cigarettes is the Chesterfield Reds, Blues, and Greens at $28.50.
By raising prices, the national smoking rate of adults has dropped by around half over the past decade, with only 8% of the country's adult population remaining daily smokers in 2022. Ayesha Verral, the country's associate health minister, gave a statement regarding the country's hopes regarding smoking.
Verral: “Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5billion better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations."
By the end of 2023, out of the 6,000 tobacco retailers, 90% will lose their licenses, resulting in about 600 licenses left, while the level of nicotine in tobacco and vaping products is expected to be reduced under the new laws.
Resources:
Beehive New Zealand Government Website
See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.
