New Zealand stubs out smoking, passing wide-ranging tobacco ban
FirstpostUnder legislation passed by parliament Tuesday, cigarettes will be much weaker, more difficult to buy and permanently unavailable to anyone currently under 14 years old Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand will phase in a near-total tobacco ban from next year, prohibiting anyone born after 2008 from ever purchasing cigarettes and reducing the amount of nicotine in products sold in the meantime. The legislation effectively raises the smoking age every year, and is designed to almost immediately reduce the number of people using tobacco products. As well as a steadily increasing age limit, the new law will slash the number of retailers able to sell tobacco products to a maximum of just 600 nationwide, a massive drop from the current figure of 6,000. “It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” Verrall said.