New Zealand’s new conservative government, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, has announced its decision to abandon groundbreaking measures aimed at reducing smoking rates in the country. The move has been criticized by health campaigners, who see it as a significant victory for the tobacco industry.
The measures, known as the “generational smoking ban,” were introduced by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and aimed to prohibit the sale of cigarettes to individuals born after 2008. Similar measures have recently been implemented in the United Kingdom, receiving praise from public health experts and anti-smoking advocates.
However, Luxon confirmed that the government would scrap these laws before they came into effect, citing concerns about the emergence of a thriving black market for tobacco products. He acknowledged that the tax revenue generated from cigarette sales would be beneficial for the government, but emphasized that financial gain was not the main motivation for the decision.
The Health Coalition Aotearoa, an anti-smoking group, expressed disappointment with the government’s policy reversal, describing it as a major setback for public health and a triumph for the tobacco industry. The group argued that the tobacco industry’s profits would increase at the expense of the well-being of New Zealanders.
The legislation, originally scheduled to take effect later this year, aimed to rapidly reduce the number of people using tobacco products. Although the smoking rate among adults in New Zealand is already relatively low at 8%, the previous government envisioned a future where the country would become completely smoke-free. The new law would have also drastically reduced the number of retailers permitted to sell tobacco products from 6,000 to just 600 nationwide.
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