New Zealand plans to ban young people from buying cigarettes in their lifetime in the world's toughest crackdown on the tobacco industry, arguing that other efforts to quit smoking are taking too long. ۔


In 2027, people aged 14 and under will never be allowed to buy cigarettes in the 5 million Pacific nation, part of a proposal on Thursday to sell tobacco and nicotine in all products. Reducing the level of will also stop the number of authorized retailers.


"We want to make sure that young people never start smoking, so we want to sell or supply tobacco products to new groups of young people," said Ayesha Warrell, New Zealand's associate minister of health. Will be criminalized. "


"If nothing else, it will take decades for Maori smoking to fall below 5%, and this government is not ready to leave the people behind."


Currently, 11.6% of all New Zealanders over the age of 15 smoke, a figure that rises to 29% among local Maori adults, according to government figures.


The government will consult a Maori health task force in the coming months before legislating in parliament in June next year with the aim of making it a law by the end of 2022.


Experts call for a tobacco-free world by 2040


Restrictions will then be implemented in phases from 2024, beginning with a sharp decline in the number of authorized sellers, followed by a reduction in nicotine requirements in 2025 and the creation of a "smoke-free" breed by 2027. Will be.


The package of measures will make New Zealand's retail tobacco industry one of the world's most restrictive, right behind Bhutan, which has a complete ban on cigarette sales. New Zealand's neighbor Australia was the first country in the world to make simple packaging of cigarettes mandatory in 2012.


The New Zealand government says that although current measures such as tariffs on simple packaging and sales have reduced tobacco consumption, drastic measures are needed to achieve its target of less than 5% of the population who smoke daily by 2025. ۔


The government said the new rules would halve the smoking rate in the country in at least 10 years from the time they take effect.


Smoking kills about 5,000 people a year in New Zealand, making it one of the leading causes of preventable death in the country. The country's government says four out of five start smoking before the age of 18.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Health officials welcomed the crackdown, while retailers expressed concern about the impact on their businesses and warned of a black market.


The government did not provide details on how the new laws would be implemented or whether they would apply to newcomers to the country.


"Smoking kills 14 New Zealanders every day and two out of three smokers will die as a result of smoking," said Alastair Humphrey, head of the New Zealand Medical Association, in a statement.


"This action plan provides some hope for achieving our 2025 Smokefree Aotearoa goal and keeping our Tamariki (Mؤori children) smoke-free."


However, the Dairy and Business Owners Group, a lobby group for local convenience stores known as Dairy in New Zealand, said that although it supported a non-smoking country, the government's plans Will destroy businesses.


"It's all 100 percent theory and zero percent matter," group chairman Sunny Koshal told Stuff.co.nz. "The tide of crime is flowing. Gangs and criminals will fill the void with Tiny Houses as well as Sigi Houses.