The law was scheduled to take effect in July, and would prevent people born after January 1, 2009 from purchasing tobacco products.
Tuesday 27 February 2024 11:59 UK
New Zealand today lifted what would have been the world's first ban on young people buying tobacco.
The law was scheduled to take effect in July, and would prevent people born after January 1, 2009 from purchasing tobacco products.
It would also reduce the nicotine content in tobacco products and reduce the number of retail stores by more than 90%.
but new zealand's new coalition government has confirmed that the world's toughest anti-tobacco policy will be withdrawn.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak too similar plans And he previously said a U-turn to New Zealand would not change his mind.
New Zealand's change in position comes after a new coalition agreement concluded six weeks of negotiations following the general election on October 14 last year.
The election moved the country to the right; Conservative National Party victory The six-year Labor government under Christopher Luxon has come to an end.
Under New Zealand's proportional voting system, parties typically need to form alliances to gain a governing majority.
The Government's Deputy Health Minister Casey Costello said the Coalition was committed to reducing smoking but was taking a different regulatory approach to deter the habit and reduce the harm caused.
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“We will soon bring to Cabinet a series of measures to increase the tools available to help people quit smoking,” she said.
The decision has faced criticism that it will maintain health disparities between Māori and Pasifika people, who have high rates of smoking.
“This repeal goes against solid research evidence and ignores measures strongly supported by Māori leaders,” University of Otago researcher Janet Hook said.
“Large clinical trials and modeling studies show that this law would rapidly increase quit rates among smokers and make it much harder for young people to start smoking.” , said Hook, co-director of a group researching ways to reduce smoking. smoking.
The UK government has not said when a vote on the youth smoking ban will take place.