New Zealand has announced that it is banning all cigarette sales for anyone born after 2008.
The country’s new law is in an effort to phase out smoking, beginning with its next generation. The Health Minister, Dr. Ayesha Verall, said that it is to make sure no one who is younger actually picks up the habit of smoking.
It’s a part of a wider sweeping crackdown that is against smoking in general, which was announced by the country’s health ministry on Thursday.
Doctors both in the country and worldwide have greatly welcomed the reforms and efforts and praised them widely. They hope that it will reduce not only the access to tobacco but the desire to access it. The measure also restricts nicotine levels within cigarettes, which doctors hope will reduce the addictiveness and the need to continue smoking more.
New Zealand wants to obtain a reduction of a national smoking rate, hoping to lower the rate to five percent of public smoking by 2025. Its overall aim, they have stated clearly, is to eliminate smoking overall.
As of this moment, 13 percent of adults in New Zealand smoke. That rate is higher among indigenous populations, where it reaches almost one-third of adults who smoke.
The Health Ministry has pointed to damning research that shows one in four center cases within the country come from preventable causes, especially smoking.
This measure is the latest of a smoking and tobacco crackdown announced on Thursday by the government. Tobacco controls were also announced, reducing and restricting where cigarettes are sold in order to remove them from easily accessible places, specifically supermarkets and local corner stores.
The new restrictions will mean that cigarettes, which were sold in 8,000 shops across the country, will now be sold in less than 500 stores.
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