New Zealand to Ban Smoking for Next Generation

• New Zealand plans to ban smoking for the next generation

EKO HOT BLOG reports New Zealand intends to make smoking illegal for the next generation so that they will never be able to legally purchase tobacco in the country.

The legal age for purchasing tobacco will be gradually raised to 18 under proposed new law, said Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall during a news conference Thursday.

“We want to make sure young people never start smoking so we will make it an offence to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth,” she said. “People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.”

The bill will be introduced in Parliament in 2022 as part of a push to decrease the prevalence of smoking in the community to less than 5% by 2025.

According to official statistics, 13.4 percent of New Zealand’s adult population smokes. This is a decrease from 18.2 percent in 2011/12.

According to the Ministry of Health, however, between 4,000 and 5,000 individuals die each year as a result of smoking-related illnesses.

“Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand and causes one in four cancers,” Verrall said. “Smoking related harm is particularly prevalent in our Māori, Pacific and low income communities.”

Some 32% of Māori women smoke — the country’s highest rate, according to the ministry. The rate is 25% for Māori men.

Along with the new law, the government would focus “practical assistance measures” to assist smokers in quitting, according to Verrall.

These include stricter controls on tobacco promotion and guaranteeing that only products with very low nicotine levels may be manufactured, imported, and marketed. The number of shops that can sell tobacco products will also be significantly reduced.

The regulation does not address vaping, which is nevertheless popular among New Zealand’s youth. According to a November research from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ, over 20% of students vape on a regular basis, with 57% believing it is harmful to their health.

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