New Zealand Bans Future Generations from Buying Cigarettes
2022-12-15
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1New Zealand passed a law on Tuesday to set a lifetime ban on buying cigarettes for any person born after January 1, 2009.
2This means that the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up.
3And someone trying to buy cigarettes 50 years from now would need to show that they were at least 63 years old.
4Those who violate the law could face fines of up to $95,000.
5But New Zealand health officials hope smoking will decrease well before then.
6They have stated a goal of making the country smoke-free by 2025.
7The ban is part of the new anti-smoking laws that are among the strictest in the world.
8The law reduces the number of shops that can sell tobacco products from about 6,000 to 600.
9It also decreases the amount of nicotine permitted in smoked tobacco products.
10Nicotine is an addictive element in tobacco.
11"There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it," Associate Minister of Health Dr. Ayesha Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament.
12She added, "thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5 billion better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking."
13New Zealand has one of the lowest adult smoking rates among developed countries.
14The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said the number of adult New Zealanders smoking fell by half over the past 10 years to eight percent.
15And OECD data shows 25 percent of French adults smoked in 2021.
16Smoking rates remain higher among the indigenous Māori in New Zealand, with about 20 percent reporting they smoked.
17Verrall said the new laws would help close the life expectancy gap between Maori and non-Maori citizens.
18While most lawmakers support the new laws, the ACT New Zealand party spoke out against the legislation.
19They said many small stores would go out of business because they would no longer be able to sell cigarettes.
20Brooke van Velden, a leader of ACT, said the ban would create an illegal market and cause problems.
21"No one wants to see people smoke, but the reality is, some will," she added.
22Around the world, only Bhutan has a stricter anti-smoking law.
23The small Asian country banned cigarette sales in 2010.
24I'm Andrew Smith.
1New Zealand passed a law on Tuesday to set a lifetime ban on buying cigarettes for any person born after January 1, 2009. 2This means that the minimum age for buying cigarettes will keep going up and up. And someone trying to buy cigarettes 50 years from now would need to show that they were at least 63 years old. Those who violate the law could face fines of up to $95,000. 3But New Zealand health officials hope smoking will decrease well before then. They have stated a goal of making the country smoke-free by 2025. 4The ban is part of the new anti-smoking laws that are among the strictest in the world. The law reduces the number of shops that can sell tobacco products from about 6,000 to 600. It also decreases the amount of nicotine permitted in smoked tobacco products. Nicotine is an addictive element in tobacco. 5"There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it," Associate Minister of Health Dr. Ayesha Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament. 6She added, "thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5 billion better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking." 7New Zealand has one of the lowest adult smoking rates among developed countries. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said the number of adult New Zealanders smoking fell by half over the past 10 years to eight percent. And OECD data shows 25 percent of French adults smoked in 2021. 8Smoking rates remain higher among the indigenous Māori in New Zealand, with about 20 percent reporting they smoked. Verrall said the new laws would help close the life expectancy gap between Maori and non-Maori citizens. 9While most lawmakers support the new laws, the ACT New Zealand party spoke out against the legislation. They said many small stores would go out of business because they would no longer be able to sell cigarettes. 10Brooke van Velden, a leader of ACT, said the ban would create an illegal market and cause problems. "No one wants to see people smoke, but the reality is, some will," she added. 11Around the world, only Bhutan has a stricter anti-smoking law. The small Asian country banned cigarette sales in 2010. 12I'm Andrew Smith. 13Andrew Smith adapted this story for VOA Learning English from reporting from the Associated Press and Reuters. 14_____________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16addictive -adj. referring to some thing or some activity that makes you want to keep using it or keep doing it 17allow -v. to permit 18gap -n. a difference in amount or quality between two things 19_____________________________________________________________ 20We want to hear from you. 21We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 22Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.