New Zealand will neither introduce a generational ban on cigarette sales nor introduce requirements for low-nicotine cigarettes. This was recently announced by the country's new government. The reason is the risk of losing tax revenue, but also that smoking is declining rapidly even without the planned reform.
It is now clear that New Zealand is scrapping plans to introduce a so-called generational ban on cigarette purchases. It will also not significantly reduce the number of retail outlets and is backing away from legislation that would regulate nicotine levels in cigarettes to very low levels.
According to the new government, the reforms would simply cost too much, at a time when the country is facing economic challenges.
"We estimate that smoke-free reform would cost close to a billion New Zealand dollars. We expected to be able to finance it with other tax revenues. But these are now not forthcoming, while we are planning major tax cuts in other areas." Finance Minister Nicola Willis told NewsHub magazine in December 2023.
Fewer shops - black market
The reform was supposed to reduce the number of shops licensed to sell cigarettes by as much as 90%. In addition to a loss of tax revenue, this could lead to large black markets for cigarette sales, says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in the Guardian newspaper.
"Concentrating cigarette sales in one small shop in each city will become a magnet for organized crime" says Christopher Luxon.
Plans to lower the nicotine content of the cigarettes that would be allowed to be sold have also suffered setbacks. The only company currently selling such cigarettes, 22nd Century Group, has struggled to meet the expected demand for due to financial worries.
E-cigarettes key to smoke-free 2025
New Zealand's tobacco policy has received a lot of attention worldwide and has been described as both groundbreaking and progressive. At the same time, the previous government has been criticized for not putting enough emphasis on the role of e-cigarettes in the strategy to reduce smoking in the country.
"If we look at the trends we have seen in recent years, it is clear that we are already on the right track, if we just keep doing what we are doing. Smoking will be below 5% by 2025. Among young people, 1% smoke daily, while 10% vejpar. We already have a smoke-free generation and the explanation for this lies in a clear strategy where e-cigarettes, i.e. harm reduction, have been given a central role" said Ben Youdan, head of the organization Smoke Free 2025 in New Zealand in Vejpkollen 2022.
Investing in better smoking cessation
The decision to scrap the planned reform has now been taken in Parliament, putting the globally acclaimed reform on hold. At the same time, the government wants to invest more in smoking cessation and regulate the e-cigarette market more strictly, is announced via Reuters.
Recommends e-cigs for smoking cessation
For some years now, the New Zealand authorities have been running several stop-smoking campaigns. These encourage smokers to seek help and at the same time provide information about various tools that are currently evidence-based for smoking cessation. These tools include traditional medicines and e-cigarettes and vejpning.
