10 December 2021 - New Zealand to ban cigarettes for future generations
Government to ban tobacco sales to young people for their lifetime in first-ever 'smokefree generation'
Bridie Witton (Stuff, 09/12/2021)
The Government will ban young people from ever being able to purchase tobacco in their lives under world-leading plans to make New Zealand smokefree.
Older generations will only be able to buy tobacco products with very low levels of nicotine, and fewer shops will be able to sell tobacco products, Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced as part of the new Smokefree 2025 action plan at Parliament on Thursday.
“We want to make sure young people never start smoking, so we will make it an offence to sell or supply smoke tobacco products to new cohorts of young people,” she said. “People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.”
PM Jacinda Ardern on the Smokefree 2025 Action Plan
(New Zealand Herald, 08/12/2021)
People aged 14 and under will soon never be able to legally buy tobacco, under new legislation being announced today. PM Jacinda Ardern said the action plan was focused on ensuring young people did not take up smoking in the first place.
New Zealand to ban smoking for next generation in bid to outlaw habit by 2025
Tess McClure (The Guardian, 08/12/2021)
New Zealand has announced it will outlaw smoking for the next generation, so that those who are aged 14 and under today will never be legally able to buy tobacco.
New legislation means the legal smoking age will increase every year, to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders, associate health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said on Thursday.
“This is a historic day for the health of our people,” she said.
Associate health minister Ayesha Verrall talks about cigarette ban
(RNZ, 09/12/2021)
The government intends to ban cigarette sales as part of its Smokefree 2025 plan.
It's hoped to become law by late next year -- with a transition period to make smoked tobacco products less appealing and addictive before they're outlawed completely.