Bloomberg: New Zealand’s New Government to Repeal ‘Smoke-Free Generation’ Law

New Zealand’s new government will repeal the law banning the sale of tobacco to people born after 2008.

Breaking: According to Bloomberg on November 24, New Zealand’s new government will repeal the regulation banning the sale of tobacco to people born after 2008 (the “smoke-free generation” law). The new government, made up of the National Party, ACT Party, and New Zealand First, will also scrap plans to reduce the number of retail outlets permitted to sell cigarettes. 

“This is a major loss for public health and a huge win for the tobacco industry, whose profits will come at the expense of New Zealanders’ lives,” said Boyd Swinburn, co-chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa. 

Recent research showed that if fully implemented, the smoke-free law would save the health system NZ$1.3 billion (US$790 million) over the next 20 years and reduce all-cause mortality by 22% and 9% respectively, he said. 

The previous Labour-led government introduced an amendment that would gradually raise the smoking age from 18 starting in 2027, effectively banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008. That government also introduced rules to reduce the number of stores allowed to sell tobacco beginning in 2024, and planned to allow only tobacco products with very low nicotine content to be sold from 2025. 

Countries including Malaysia and Singapore have considered implementing similar laws. 

The new National-led government said it will repeal these amendments by March next year, revise requirements for vaping products, and tax only combustible products. This policy has been championed by the nationalist New Zealand First party, which supports “age-appropriate access to nicotine, which for adults is generally as safe as caffeine.” 

Data released at the end of 2022 showed that New Zealand’s adult smoking rate fell from 9.4% in the year to July 2022 to 8% daily smoking.