The enchanting island country of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean has succeeded where none in the world has, and it adds a rather large feather to its hat. On 13th December 2022, New Zealand, MÄori Aotearoa, passed a law banning smoking for the lifetime of its future generations. New Zealanders born on and after 1st January 2009 cannot buy cigarettes as a part of a package of anti-smoking laws.
This means that the base age for buying cancer-causing smoke-sticks will keep going up for the citizens of New Zealand. This law has been passed after decades of hard work by the anti-smoking/tobacco organisations, and is in conjunction with the government&rsquos goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.
Lead By Example
Furthermore, the new law has decreased the amount of nicotine allowed and lessened the number of tobacco retailers from around 6,000 to 600. &ldquoThere is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,&rdquo said the Associate Minister of Health Dr. Ayesha Verrall, to New Zealand parliamentarians. While there was a lot of opposition in the parliament to the anti-smoking bill, and phrases such as &lsquobad policy&rsquo, &lsquostate prohibition&rsquo, etc., were thrown about, the bill was finally passed into law.
This law may help New Zealand save billions of dollars spent on treating diseases like cancer, strokes, and smoking-related cardiac issues. Interestingly, the law does not cover vaping, which is quite popular in the country.
Follow The Law
The sale of cigarettes in New Zealand is already restricted to those aged 18 and above. Plus, the law requires that tobacco packs have graphic health warnings, etc. Also, the country has levied major tax hikes on cigarettes, all toward making New Zealand smoke-free. The new law comes with fines that can go up to NZ$150,000, or $95,910, or Rs 79,11,855.28.
According to the New Zealand Customs Service rules, travellers to the country can bring duty-free tobacco limited to 50 cigarettes, 50 grams of cigars, or tobacco products, or 50 grams of a mixture of all three. The tourist must declare if they are over the limit and pay duty and GST on the excess amount. Failure to declare tobacco means it will be seized, and you could face further penalties.
Bhutan Cut-Offs
The only other country to have stricter anti-smoking laws than New Zealand is the Kingdom of Bhutan. It banned the sale of cigarettes in 2010. It has been reported that Bhutan became party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. The Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan 2010 is the main tobacco control legislation. The law prohibits the cultivation, manufacture, sale, and distribution of tobacco products within Bhutan. Only a limited quantity of tobacco products may be imported for personal use. Additionally, the law governs smoke-free places, tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship and requires that imported products bear the health warnings required in the country of origin.
Owning Ours
India, too, has been taking stringent steps to control the sale of tobacco and has put in place strict laws against smoking. Tobacco and cigarettes cannot be sold to minors (under 18). All types of smoking (cigarette, beedi, etc.) are completely banned in many public places and workplaces, such as healthcare, educational, government facilities, and public transport. The advertising of cigarettes and associated tobacco products such as gutka, pan masala, etc., through most forms of mass media is prohibited. There are restrictions on tobacco sponsorship and the publicity of such sponsorship. There have to be graphic health warnings on packages, and the sale of tobacco products and cigarettes is banned within 100 yards of an educational institution. Regarding e-cigarettes, it is prohibited to produce, manufacture, import, export, transport, sell, distribute, or advertise them.
