Is New Zealand going to ban cigarette sales?

       In a move that would stop the entire generation from smoking, New Zealand plans to introduce a new law to reduce the national adult smoking rate to less than 5% by 2025.

Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death, according to figures released by the New Zealand government. According to another Reuters report, smoking kills 5,000 people each year in a country where about 11.6 percent of people over the age of 15 smoke. However, smoking rates are much higher for locals, with 29% Maori and 18% Pacific people addicted.

New Zealand's current smoking laws make it illegal for people under the age of 18 to buy cigarettes and is one of 17 countries that require simple packaging of cigarettes. While the adult smoking rate has dropped from 18 percent a decade ago to just 12 percent, the government plans to reduce that number to less than 5 percent over the next five years, according to The Guardian. Is.

The move is also largely aimed at the local population, which still has high smoking rates, and if the new plan is not implemented, it will take decades for rates to fall below 5%.


According to the government, four out of five smokers start before the age of 18. The proposed law in 2027 will make it illegal for anyone 14 years of age or younger to buy a cigarette in their lifetime. The purpose of this law is to prevent an entire generation from smoking in the country. In the next few months, the government will consult with the Maori Health Task Force and then pass legislation in Parliament in June that could be enacted by the end of next year.

In addition to the age limit, the government is considering reducing the number of cigarette stores in the country from 2024, with the goal of reducing nicotine levels in products from 2025, making it easier for people to quit. Be done

 Although smoking rates among young people in New Zealand have dropped, it has been replaced by vaping, even among people who have never smoked. A survey of 19,000 high school students this year found that 20% took vapors with high levels of nicotine on a daily basis. In contrast, the 2018 survey found that only 3% of students in the age group smoked daily.

The government has not yet said how it intends to enforce the law or whether it will apply to immigrants who may be smuggling the product. Although not as explicit as the ban on cigarettes in Bhutan, tobacco retailers have warned that this could lead to a black market for the product.