New Zealand won’t be kicking butts after all.
The country, in 2022, passed legislation that would gradually raise the legal age to buy tobacco products, effectively preventing anyone born in 2009 or later from ever being able to do so. However, a change in the government has led to a reversal of that policy.
The Labour Party has held the reins in the country for the past five years, but the right-leaning National Party, which was elected in October and sworn in on Monday, had vowed to repeal the smoking laws to ensure the support of a populist group during the election.
While New Zealand is dropping its smoking ban (which was set to begin in 2027), the idea has already caught on within several other governments. A similar proposal is under consideration in England. Hong Kong is considering one of its own. And Ireland and Wales hope to be smoke-free within 10 years.
At the time of its introduction, Chris Bullen, professor of public health at the University of Auckland, called the bill “the single most significant step we take as a nation to reducing preventable death and disease and reducing health inequities.”
The National Party says the revenue it receives from tobacco sales will result in lower income taxes for residents. Health officials, however, warn that whatever tax benefits people see will be more than countered by a surge in health care costs, which could reach into the billions.
One study estimated the smoking laws would have saved New Zealanders $800 million in U.S. dollars within 20 years.
Opponents of the smoking ban, which also restricted the number of retailers who were allowed to sell tobacco in New Zealand, said the move was government overreach, with one leader calling it “nanny-state prohibition.”