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Associated Press

New Zealand on Tuesday passed into law a unique plan to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes.
The law states that tobacco cannot ever be sold to anybody born on or after January 1, 2009.
It means the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up. In theory, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need ID to show they were at least 63 years old.
But health authorities hope smoking will fade away well before then. They have a stated goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.
Singapore mulls smoking ban for young, following New Zealand’s lead
The new law also reduces the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and decreases the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco that is smoked.
“There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,” Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall told parliament. “And I can tell you that we will end this in the future, as we pass this legislation.”
She said the health system would save billions of dollars from not needing to treat illnesses caused by smoking, such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and amputations. She said the bill would create generational change and leave a legacy of better health for youth.
Lawmakers voted along party lines in passing the legislation 76 to 43.

The libertarian ACT party, which opposed the bill, said many small corner shops, known in New Zealand as dairies, would go out of business because they would no longer be able to sell cigarettes.
“We stand opposed to this bill because it’s a bad bill and it’s bad policy, it's that straightforward and simple,” said Brooke van Velden, ACT’s deputy leader. “There won’t be better outcomes for New Zealanders.”
She said the gradual ban amounted to “nanny-state prohibition” that would end up creating a large black market. She said prohibition never worked and always ended with unintended consequences.
The law does not affect vaping, which has already become more popular than smoking in New Zealand.
Statistics New Zealand reported last month that 8 per cent of adults smoked daily, down from 16 per cent ten years ago. Meanwhile, 8.3 per cent of adults vaped daily, up from less than 1 per cent six years ago.
Smoking rates remain higher among Indigenous Māori, with about 20 per cent reporting that they smoked.


New Zealand already restricts cigarette sales to those aged 18 and over, requires tobacco packs to come with graphic health warnings and cigarettes to be sold in standardised packs.
In recent years the nation has imposed a series of hefty tax hikes on cigarettes.
The law change was welcomed by several health agencies. Health Coalition Aotearoa said the new law represented the culmination of decades of hard-fought advocacy by health and community organisations.


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New Zealand

New Zealand imposes lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes

A man smoking in Auckland, New Zealand. File photo: AP

New Zealand Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall speaking about smoke-free legislation on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Malaysia redraws anti-smoking bill amid concerns over loss of rights

Malaysia’s proposed anti-smoking law aims to phase out cigarette smoking by criminalising it for everyone born from 2007 onwards. Photo: dpa

Malaysian politician Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has called for the anti-smoking bill to be sent to the parliamentary select committee for improvement. Photo: Reuters

Proponents of the anti-smoking bill have urged for it to be passed “for a healthier and better future”. Photo: Reuters

A construction worker smoking at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP

Can big smoking India aim for ‘tobacco endgame’ with higher tax rather than an outright ban?

A Hindu holy man smokes ‘bidi’, or a small hand-rolled Indian cigarette, in Allahabad. File photo: AP

An Indian sadhu smokes inside his tent at the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad. Photo: AFP

More women are smoking as India liberalises. Photo: Reuters

Indian film actor Shah Rukh Khan smokes as he watches a polo match in New Delhi. Photo: AFP

A woman smokes a bidi or local cigarette hand-rolled with tobacco leaf on a roadside in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters

A man walks past an advertisement showing Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan smoking in one of his films at a cinema hall in Mumbai. Photo: Reuters

 A man passes a cigarette to another while smoking on a pavement in New Delhi, India. Photo: Reuters

Pot-smoking tourists not welcome in marijuana-friendly Thailand, says health minister Anutin Charnvirakul

Two months after Thailand passed laws decriminalising cannabis, the country’s health minister discouraged tourists from visiting just to smoke weed. Photo: AFP/File

Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul gives a speech on the government’s policy on cannabis and hemp for medical and economic benefits, in Bangkok on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Canada, in a world first, proposes health warnings on every cigarette in bid to curb smoking

Canada, in a world first, proposes health warnings on individual cigarettes. Photo: AFP

10 per cent of Canadians reported smoking regularly. The government is seeking to cut that rate in half by 2035. Photo: Reuters

Singapore to study smoking ban for young adults, following New Zealand’s lead

Young adults are set to face a smoking ban in Singapore. Photo: AP 

Singapore considers tighter restrictions on vaping. Photo SCMP 

News

Asia

Australasia


Associate Minister of Health says there’s ‘no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it’
But some critics say the move, in line with New Zealand’s goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025, would create a black market



‘There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it’.


Health & Fitness

Smoking and vaping