New Zealand is about to introduce a law banning smoking for all residents of this country who were born and born after 2008. The corresponding bill will be presented in parliament in 2022, when the oldest of the young New Zealanders eligible for its application will turn 14 years old.
“As these teenagers grow up, they and future generations will never be able to legally buy tobacco, because the truth is that there is no safe age to start smoking,” said Deputy Health Minister Aisha Verrall. Smoking “is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, and also causes cancer in one in four cases,” she said, quoted by the Axios portal about the new law.
The goal of the country’s leadership is to reduce smoking rates in the country by 5% by 2025, and in the future, completely wean citizens from smoking. Today, 13% of New Zealanders are smokers, 5% less than a decade ago. At the same time, among the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand, Maori, the share of smokers is all 31%. Smoking-related illnesses and premature mortality are also more common among Maori than among fair-skinned New Zealanders.
Already, in order to wean compatriots from smoking, the New Zealand government restricts the sale of cigarettes in supermarkets and small stores, and also popularizes electronic cigarettes (vapes) as a lesser evil. According to officials, the number of stores that are allowed to sell cigarettes will be reduced as a result of the restrictions just passed from about 8,000 to 500.
Source: Rosbalt
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