If you were born after 2008 in New Zealand, you will never be allowed to buy cigarettes there.
Next year, no tobacco products will be available for purchase in the country under new legislation. Anyone who is 14 as of today will not be allowed to buy them in New Zealand. The Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan hopes to reduce rates of smoking for older people while completely banning sales for the younger population.
The country is cementing a "smoke-free generation" with the legislation announced by Dr. Verall.
"We want to make sure young people don't start smoking so we will make it an offense to sell or supply tobacco products to young people," said Verall.
New Zealand's health ministry is pursuing a large-scale tobacco ban. The country's parliament set a goal of being smoke-free by the year 2025. High taxes and plain packaging on cigarettes are barriers to tobacco products in New Zealand.
Verall said that reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes makes it easier for people to quit. New Zealand will transition to low-nicotine cigarettes in the action plan. This is a major change, but it is based on research and it is realistic because there is a less harmful option for smokers who are addicted to nicotine.
According to research, vapes are still harmful as a way to reduce cigarette consumption. Young people have long been the target demographic for the product, and that's why they're particularly appealing to them.
The number of shops that can sell cigarettes has been reduced. The amount of stores allowed to do it will be 500. A lobby group for convenience stores told the news agency that the plan will result in a crime wave. New Zealand's black market consists of at least 10 percent of tobacco sales.
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New Zealand's smoking population has fallen below the global average despite the cigarette reforms, with the smoking rate sitting at just over 13 percent in adults. The Mori population in New Zealand has the highest smoking rate in the country at 31.4 percent.
Smoking causes more harm to Mori, Pacific peoples, and people living in deprived areas according to a factsheet provided by the Ministry of Health. Mori leadership will be included in the government's plan.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand, with around 5,000 people dying from it every year. Smoking and second-hand smoking kill over 8 million people a year worldwide, and tobacco is a health crisis.
