New Zealand Scraps the World ’s First Generational Smoking Ban. Here’s What to Know

New Zealand has scrapped the world’s first generational smoking ban, a year after the country passed the legislation. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who was sworn in on Monday, announced his decision to repeal the tobacco restrictions before they ever came into effect, saying his top priority was to improve the economy and curb inflation.  [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The restrictions—introduced in 2022 by former Prime Minister Jacina Arden’s government—would have prevented people born after 2008 from legally purchasing cigarettes. Other aspects of the proposal included a reduction in the legal amount of nicotine contained in tobacco products, and a dramatic reduction in stores approved to sell such products from 6,000 to 600.   Luxon’s appointment comes six weeks after his conservative National Party won national elections with 38% of the vote, and formed a coalition with the populist-right New Zealand First. Repealing the ban was not part of Luxon’s election campaign, but the decision came about as part of the coalition agreement to cut taxes. Luxon stated the original ban would have created “an opportunity for a black market to emerge, which would be largely untaxed.” He later told Radio New Zealand that “concentrating the distribution of cigarettes in one store in one small town is going to be a massive magnet for crime.”  Critics and health ministers have ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized News Source Type: news