Smokers finding price hikes hard to swallow
Kylie Henley and her husband spend about $150 a week between them on cigarettes.
The Far North mother of three says another 10 per cent increase in cigarette excise tax, being introduced today, will be hard to swallow.
‘‘They are costing a fortune . . . I’m not a super heavy smoker but because it’s an addiction, it makes it
10 times harder.’’
In 2006, a 25-pack of cigarettes cost
$11.95. From today, the price will be near $40. Since 2009, tax per cigarette has increased from 30 cents to 82c.
Henley said taxes were not the right way to encourage people to quit. She has smoked since she was 16 and cigarettes were less than $10 a pack.
‘‘In my opinion, the higher the increase, the more robberies that are going to occur ... My husband works
70-hour weeks to pay for his habit/ addiction, and I think it is very unfair of the Government to make them cost so much.
‘‘Don’t punish the hard-working people.’’
A spokeswoman for British American Tobacco said 75 per cent of the purchase price of cigarettes now went to the Government in tax.
The increases are part of measures to reduce the number of New Zealand smokers, which has dropped from 20 per cent of the general population in
2006/2007 to 16 per cent. Researcher Jess Berentson-Shaw, of think tank The Workshop, said it did work, alongside other effective policies. ‘‘Policies that include freely available and effective quit services that are tailored to the needs of different groups,’’ she said.
‘‘We must, however, be cognisant of the impact a blunt instrument like tax has on equity.
‘‘If the greatest impact on reducing smoking rates are for those who smoke least, then policymakers need to commit to investing in tools that empower and enable those most impacted by smoking.
‘‘For young Maori women, for example, does tax work in the same way as for Pa keha ?
‘‘Given they have the highest rate of smoking, what investments are we making alongside tax increases to empower them to quit and, even better still, not start? What do these
young women say they need? What works for them? Are we committing to ensuring they have rates as low as other groups?’’
Tim Barnett, chief executive of budgeting advisers’ support organisation FinCap, agreed that increasing the price was just one method of tackling smoking.
‘‘There is certainly evidence from financial mentors that the sheer cost of smoking – given the cost of the necessities of life – can be the trigger for people to quit.
‘‘Of course, it is very tough to be increasing prices for a habit which many people find near-impossible to break. So it is vital that the cost of breaking the habit can be kept as low and as attractive as possible to make it as easy as possible to quit – including a place for vaping.
‘‘That’s as important as the taxation approach.’’
Another smoker, Crystal Sinclair, said she smoked because it relieved her depression ‘‘and handling two young children. But with increases, [it] makes it not very affordable to the point I will have to quit’’. She spent about $170 a week on smoking.
Tash Cotterill-Haenga, meanwhile, said she would consider switching to roll-your-own tobacco to save money. ‘‘I’m not a heavy smoker.’’
‘‘I’m not a super heavy smoker but because it’s an addiction, it makes it 10 times harder.’’
Kylie Henley