The new Executive of New Zealand, who was sworn in this Monday, announced that it will eliminate the anti-smoking law, approved in 2022 and which establishes that those born in 2009 onwards will never be able to buy tobacco in the country, with the aim of helping to finance the tax cuts.
Health associations criticized the new conservative government this Monday for its plan to reverse this ambitious law that was going to progressively prohibit the sale of tobacco starting in 2027.
“Our communities have spoken out unequivocally against the control that tobacco companies have over their well-being and the future of their whānau (family, in Māori). This action ignores these community voices in order to raise revenue to pay for tax cuts for the richest in Aotearoa (New Zealand)”, denounces the Maori health association Hāpai Te Hauora.
This group describes the plan as “a disproportionate blow to the health and well-being of all New Zealanders” by highlighting that the indigenous population is the one with the highest rates of smoking and associated diseases, it points out in a statement.
According to official data, smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand and public health models had suggested that the aforementioned anti-smoking law would save up to 5,000 lives a year.
In December 2022, the Labor Government, which lost power in the October elections, managed to approve a rule that establishes that those born on or after January 1, 2009 – and those who would turn 18 in 2027 – will never be able to buy tobacco legally in New Zealand.
The law was passed despite the rejection of the National Party and the liberal right-wing Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT), then in opposition.
However, after the recent elections, the Nationals – winners at the polls – formed a triple alliance with ACT and the nationalist New Zealand First Party to form a Government.
On Saturday, before being sworn in, new Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the Coalition Government would repeal the ambitious anti-smoking law to help fund tax cuts promised during the election, a move mainly pushed by ACT and New Zealand First.
“The suggestion that tax cuts will be paid for by people who continue to smoke is absolutely shocking,” Robert Beaglehole, president of Smoke-Free New Zealand, told Pacific Media Network.
According to the Ministry of Health’s prediction in 2022, the anti-smoking policy would help the health system save up to 5 billion New Zealand dollars (about 3,042 million dollars or 2,778 million euros) over the next 20 years in treating various types of cancer, heart attacks and amputations linked to tobacco.