NZ to Give Tobacco Prohibition a Crack
December 13, 2022
PHOTO: ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
Young people are now banned from buying cigarettes for life after Parliament passed some of the toughest laws in the world in order to deter people from smoking.
Under the legislation, which passed its third reading Tuesday, people born on or after January 1, 2009 – who will be turning 18 in 2027 – will never be able to buy cigarettes and the legal smoking age will increase every year.
Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced the radical and world-leading plan last December to ban tobacco sales to a generation, as well as lower the nicotine level in all tobacco products and drastically reduce number of places that can sell them.
It was a major shift from policy that had sought to influence people’s behaviours to lessen tobacco demand.