Orlando Sentinel

New Zealand rolls out plan to ban future cigarette sales

- By Natasha Frost

New Zealand unveiled a plan Thursday to eventually ban all sales of cigarettes in the country, a decadeslon­g effort unique in the world to prevent young people from taking up smoking.

The proposed legislatio­n, which is expected to become law next year, would leave current smokers free to continue buying cigarettes. But it would gradually raise the smoking age, year by year, until it covers the entire population.

Starting in 2023, anyone younger than 15 would be barred for life from buying cigarettes. So, for instance, in 2050 people 42 and older would still be able to buy tobacco products — but anyone younger would not.

“We want to make sure young people never start smoking, so we will make it an offense to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth,” Dr. Ayesha Verrall, the country’s associate health minister, said in Parliament on Thursday. “People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.”

The legislatio­n was among several proposals announced on Thursday that aim to reduce smoking levels in New Zealand across all ethnic groups, including its poorer Indigenous Maori and Pacific Island citizens, below 5% by 2025. Currently the rate is just under 10%.

New Zealand first announced this target in 2011. Since then, it has steadily raised the price of cigarettes to among the highest in the world. A pack in New Zealand costs about 30 New Zealand dollars, or a little over $20, second only to neighborin­g Australia, where wages are considerab­ly higher.

Verrall said the government was not considerin­g raising prices beyond that point. “We’ve already seen the full impact of excise tax increases,” she said. “Going further will not help people quit. It will only further punish smokers who are struggling to kick the habit.”

Banning tobacco sales, despite the clear benefits to public health, has been a virtual nonstarter around the world, with arguments often centering on civil liberties and fears of increased smuggling. In 2010, the Himalayan nation of Bhutan prohibited the sale of tobacco products, only to suspend the restrictio­ns last year amid worries that cigarette trafficker­s would bring in the coronaviru­s.

As New Zealand unveiled its proposal, the government acknowledg­ed the possible effects on the black market, which makes up at least 10% of tobacco sales in the country.

It said that smuggling of tobacco products into New Zealand, particular­ly by organized crime groups, had been rising.

“The changes proposed in this document may contribute to this problem,” the government’s proposal notes.

Since the New Zealand government began targeting smoking, rates have fallen far below the global average: 9.4% of New Zealanders currently smoke, down from 18% in 2008. Around 14% of people in the United States smoke, and roughly 20% worldwide.

The proposal did not say how the ban on sales would be enforced.

 ?? DAVID ROWLAND/AP ?? A smoker enjoys lighting up Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand. The government believes it has come up with a plan to end tobacco smoking — lifetime bans.
DAVID ROWLAND/AP A smoker enjoys lighting up Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand. The government believes it has come up with a plan to end tobacco smoking — lifetime bans.

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