Beijing time:2022-12-14 10:42
[New Tang Dynasty, Beijing time, December 14, 2022]New Zealand passed one of the world‘s strictest smoking cessation laws, prohibiting New Zealanders born after 2009 from buying cigarettes. The government’s goal is to phase out tobacco.
Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament: “76 votes in favor and 43 votes against. The motion passed.”
The tobacco control bill proposed by the New Zealand government last year was passed in Parliament on Tuesday (December 13) by 76 votes to 43.
The new law bans the sale of tobacco to people born on or after January 1, 2009, meaning that youths under the age of 14 will be barred from buying cigarettes for life. Violations carry a fine of up to NZ$150,000, which equates to US$95,910.
The new law also cut the number of licensed tobacco sellers nationwide by 90 percent, from 6,000 to 600, and drastically reduced the nicotine content of cigarettes.
New Zealand authorities hope to pass new laws to achieve a national smoke-free target by 2025.
Stats NZ reported last month that 8 per cent of New Zealand adults smoke, down from 16 per cent a decade ago. Indigenous Māori have a higher prevalence of smoking.
The new law does not ban e-cigarettes, and more and more smokers in New Zealand have turned to less harmful e-cigarettes. The report shows 8.3 per cent of New Zealand adults now vape daily, up from less than 1 per cent six years ago.
Comprehensive report by NTDTV reporter Chen Yue
URL of this article: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/12/13/a103597319.html