New Zealand had large-scale plans to enforce a tobacco ban that would reduce smoking by 95% by 2025. The new Prime Minister of New Zealand has said he plans to cancel the ban, citing a number of possible “unintended consequences” as the reason.
Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, has said his government will roll back the national legislation banning smoking for younger generations.
The legislation, proposed in 2021 and passed in 2022 for a gradual implementation in 2024, bans young people from purchasing tobacco entirely, thereby producing smokefree generations to come.
Luxon expressed disagreement with the plan due to potential “unintended consequences,” unrelated to the health risks of smoking. He has said he intends to repeal it.
Ayesha Verrall, former Associate Minister of Health, proposed the “generational smoking ban” in 2021 as a way to respond to national health issues caused by smoking. Her plan was supported by former Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who herself said that “half of those who take up smoking die from its effects [in New Zealand].”
The legislation aims to reduce the number of tobacco retailers by 94% (from 8,000 to 500) and bans people 18 years of age or younger from buying tobacco products.
The ban did not include restrictions on vaping. The government estimated that this new plan would generate NZ $11 billion worth of benefits (US $7.45 billion in 2021, $6.7 billion at current exchange rate), spread out in half between savings in health spending and income gains from increased productivity.
“Unintended consequences”
Prime Minister Luxon has said he disagrees with “specific policies” imposed by the legislation, while acknowledging smoking as a national health concern.
In an interview with TV New Zealand, a state-owned media channel, Luxon said he disagrees with the legislation because he believes local retailers may become a target for crime as a result.
“If you’re the only store [selling tobacco] in a small town in New Zealand, you become a massive target for crime, Luxon said. We think there will be an emergence of a big black market that’ll be largely untaxed.”
He added that it would be “quite hypocritical” if a 36-year-old is allowed to smoke but not a 35-year-old. Despite his disagreement with the legislation, he said that smoking rates “will go down” during his term as they have over “the last 30 years.”
Data on smoking rates in New Zealand does show that they have been reducing yearly since 1983, when 33% of adults (15+) were smokers. By 2019, that dropped to 10.9% and 8% in 2022.
Luxon’s National Party (NP), in power since this year, has announced a number of tax cuts. In light of this, Verrall, who initially proposed the legislation, took to social media to comment on the choice to cancel the legislation. She said that Luxon’s party is funding the tax cuts by allowing more people to smoke, hence bringing tax revenue from tobacco products.
An online petition has been created to stop the repeal of the legislation, with 1,690 signatures as of writing.
