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Young female smoker (symbolic image)
Photo: imago stock & people
New Zealand wants to become a smoke-free country - and ban the sale of cigarettes to future generations.
Adolescents who were 14 years of age or younger when a corresponding law named "Smokefree 2025 Action Plan" came into force could never legally buy tobacco products in the Pacific state, said Deputy Health Minister Ayesha Verrall on Thursday.
The new rules are expected to apply from the end of next year, reported the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
"We want to make sure that young people never start smoking, so we're making it illegal to sell smokable tobacco products to teenagers," Verrall said.
According to the plan, older smokers will only be able to buy very low-nicotine tobacco products.
In addition, fewer and fewer shops are to be given permission to sell tobacco products.
"This is a historic day for the health of our people," Verrall said.
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in New Zealand, said the politician.
The damage caused by smoking is particularly noticeable among the Maori (the country's indigenous people) and in low-income communities.
Be concerned about illegal trading on the black market
Verrall also announced measures to help smokers quit.
"If we stop people from smoking and help those who do quit, we cover both ends of the spectrum," she said.
But critics are already warning that a ban will fuel illegal trade on the black market.
A spokeswoman for the New Zealand party ACT, Karen Chhour, told the New Zealand Herald that bans had never done anything.
"At some point we will have a black market for tobacco with no standards or regulations - and people will be harmed."
aar / dpa