New Zealand - November 2023

New Zealand’s incoming governing coalition surprised observers by announcing plans to abandon a set of anti-smoking laws passed by the previous government in December 2022, as the issue had not been raised during the election campaign. The laws, praised by public health advocates, had included plans to not sell tobacco products to anyone born after 2008, decrease the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, and shrink the number of places where cigarettes were sold by 90 per cent. Finance Minister Nicola Willis told journalists the tax receipts from sales of tobacco products would be used to fund tax cuts. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand, and health experts were concerned about the disproportionate impact on Maori New Zealanders and argued that the costs to the health system from smoking-related illnesses would outpace any increased tax receipts.

Sources: Radio New Zealand, British Broadcasting Corporation