Cigarette habit runs out of puff
Kayleb Breen was blowing away more than $3500 a year on cigarettes.
For the 21-year-old Hamilton man, it was money that could have been spent on a new car, or as savings towards a house.
The increasing cost of a packet of cigarettes finally prompted Breen to quit.
To further motivate people to stop smoking, the price of cigarettes and loose tobacco went up another 10 per cent at the beginning of the year.
It was the second of four consecutive 10 per cent rises, and the price of a packet of cigarettes will increase from about $20 to $30 by 2020.
As of January 1, 2018, the tobacco tax is 83 cents per cigarette, and the hikes were one of the main reasons Breen decided to quit smoking.
‘‘It’s a hell of a waste of money,’’ he said.
‘‘I was spending at least $60 to $100 a week.
‘‘I still remember the first puff I ever had, I almost died.’’
Breen began smoking when he was 11-years-old, stopped at age 12, but picked it up again when he was 17.
He said cigarettes were easily available in stores and superettes.
It’d be easier to quit if they weren’t in every dairy, he said.
It would also reduce the amount of robberies occurring in Hamilton.
And the health warnings on packets often fell on deaf ears, too.
‘‘Every time I’d walk into a shop, I’d get durrys, even with the plain packaging and the big photos, a smoker doesn’t give a shit about that.
‘‘And at 21, you think ‘that won’t happen to me’ but eventually it will.’’
Tax increases seem to be one of the most effective options, he said.
‘‘Eventually the only people who are going to be smoking will be really rich people.
‘‘They want New Zealand smoke free by 2025, I doubt that will happen, but it’s getting better.’’
To kick the habit, Breen enlisted the help of Pinnacle Midlands Health’s initiative Once and For All.
The programme provides a free stop smoking service and offers face-to-face support across most of the Waikato.