1 of 2 New Zealand passed laws in 2022 to restrict and eventually ban the sale of cigarettes to future generations Photo: PA MEDIA New Zealand passed laws in 2022 to limit and ultimately ban the sale of cigarettes to future generations Photo: PA AVERAGE
The law, introduced under Jacinda Ardern’s previous government, aimed to ban the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2008 from next year.
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in New Zealand and the policy was aimed at discouraging younger generations from taking up the habit.
Health experts sharply criticized the sudden turnaround.
“We are shocked and outraged… this is an incredible step backwards from absolutely excellent and worldfirst health measures,” said Professor Richard Edwards, a tobacco control researcher and public health expert at the University of Otago.
“Most health groups in New Zealand are appalled at what the government has done and are urging them to reconsider,” he told the BBC.
The law, passed last year, received international recognition.
Measures included limiting the number of tobacco sellers and reducing the nicotine content in cigarettes.
Statistical models suggest that smoking ban laws could save up to 5,000 lives per year.
New Zealand’s laws are believed to have inspired the British government to announce a similar smoking ban for young people in September.
A spokeswoman said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s position remained unchanged following New Zealand’s withdrawal.
Although the antismoking measures have been praised as a public health measure, they have faced opposition from some business groups in New Zealand.
Kiosk and small shop owners criticized the loss of income despite government subsidies.
Some politicians including new Prime Minister Chris Luxon also argued that the ban would create a parallel market for tobacco.
However, his National Party, which won 38% of the vote in the Oct. 14 election, made no mention of antismoking laws during the campaign.
New Finance Minister Nicola Willis’s announcement on Saturday (25/11) that the government would repeal the law shocked health experts who believed the policy would remain intact.
Despite the election victory, the centerright National Party has been fighting for weeks in political negotiations to form a government with two smaller parties.
It was only on Friday (November 24th), six weeks after the elections, that an agreement was reached so that the new government can take office on Monday. New Zealand First which received 6% of the vote was the only party to support repealing the smoking laws.
Both smaller parties blocked a leading national policy to open up foreign ownership which the party would use to finance tax cuts for middle and high earners. Willis said Saturday that this prompted the party to look for another source of revenue.
“We have to remember that the changes to antismoking legislation have had a significant impact on the national treasury, which contains around a billion dollars,” she told New Zealand broadcaster TV3’s Newshub Nation.
Laws still need to be effectively repealed by Parliament, where the government has a majority.
“The suggestion that tax cuts would be paid for by people who continue to smoke is absolutely shocking,” Professor Emeritus Robert Beaglehole, chair of the New Zealand Smoking Freedom Action 2025 committee, told Pacific Media Network.
A national Māori health organisation, Hāpai Te Hauora, called it an “unwarranted blow to the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders”.
Smoking rates and associated diseases and health problems are highest among New Zealand’s indigenous Māori population, for whom experts say the measure would have the most positive impact.
2 of 2 New Zealand has been aggressively running awareness campaigns to reduce tobacco use for years Photo: GETTY IMAGES New Zealand has been aggressively running awareness campaigns to reduce tobacco use for years Photo: GETTY IMAGES
“The government is acting against public opinion and obviously against the vast majority of people who work in this field, health professionals, doctors, nurses,” Edwards said.
Public health modeling conducted in 2022 showed that the smoking ban policy would have saved New Zealand’s health system around 1.3 billion New Zealand dollars (R3.9 billion) over the next 20 years.
New Zealand still aims to reduce the national smoking rate to 5% by 2025, with the aim of eventually eliminating it completely.
National data shows that more than 80,000 adults have quit smoking in 2022. Currently, about 8% of the adult population smokes.