By Lucy Craymer
(Reuters) – WELLINGTON has been The government of New Zealand has announced that on Tuesday, they will abolish a world-first rule that prohibits the sale of tobacco to future generations. This, despite the fact that researchers and campaigners have warned of the possibility that people could die as a result of the laws.
The most stringent anti-tobacco regulations in the world are scheduled to go into effect in July. These regulations would have prohibited sales to anyone born after January 1, 2009, restricted the amount of nicotine that is included in smoked tobacco products, and reduced the number of tobacco shops by more than 90 percent.
In accordance with the plans that were previously disclosed, the new coalition government that was elected in October has indicated that the repeal will take place on Tuesday as a matter of urgency. This will allow the administration to get rid of the law without first soliciting public feedback.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello stated that the coalition government was dedicated to eliminating smoking, but that they were adopting a different regulatory strategy in order to discourage the habit and limit the harm that it caused.
“I will soon be taking a package of measures to cabinet to increase the tools available to help people quit smoking,” said Costello. He also added that laws on vaping would be tightened in order to discourage young people from engaging in activities that involve vaping.
In addition to being highly attacked for the impact it is projected to have on health outcomes in New Zealand, the decision has also been met with criticism due to concerns that it may have a more significant impact on Maori and Pasifika communities, which are groups that have higher smoking rates.
According to Janet Hoek, a researcher at Otago University, repealing the law would go contrary to the findings of numerous studies, it would disregard the policies that are strongly supported by Maori leaders, and it would maintain existing health disparities.
Hoek, who is the co-director of a group that is researching different strategies to reduce smoking, stated that “large-scale clinical trials and modeling studies show that the legislation would have rapidly increased the rates of quitting among smokers and made it much harder for young people to start smoking.”
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)