'Win for tobacco': New Zealand to abandon first of its kind smoking ban as new government sworn in

Cigarette butts sit in an ashtray on March 28, 2019, in New York

New Zealand’s government is planning on repealing a smoking ban approved last year in a move critics denounced as a “win for the tobacco industry”.

The country’s new prime minister, Christopher Luxon, was sworn in on Monday after his National Party struck a deal on Friday following last month’s election.

The tobacco restrictions passed last year included requirements for reduced nicotine levels and a lifetime ban for anyone born after 2008.

“We will continue to make sure we have good education programmes and encourage people to take up vapes as a cessation tool,” Luxon said.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a similar ban last month, saying he wanted to “create the first smoke-free generation”.

He said smoking put pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and cost the country £17 billion (€19.5 billion) per year.

‘Major loss for public health’

The Auckland-based Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), which includes 45 member organisations, said they were “extremely disappointed the new coalition government plans to repeal” the world-first laws.

“This is major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry – whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives,” said HCA co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn.

Tobacco smoking kills more than 8 million people per year, including around 1.3 million non-smokers due to second-hand smoke.

In 2019, 5.9 per cent of the EU population aged 15 years and older consumed at least 20 cigarettes per day, according to Eurostat.

The share of daily smokers in EU countries ranged from 6.4 per cent in Sweden to 28.7 per cent in Bulgaria.