Smoking Ban: People born in 2009 & later are banned..!?

Sowmiya Sriram
Smoking Ban: people born in 2009 & later are banned..!?

New Zealand on tuesday enacted a unique plan to phase out smoking by banning young people from buying cigarettes. There is a provision in this Act that tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after january 1, 2009. What's the big deal? So what's the point of banning the sale of cigarettes to 13-year-olds? This ban will continue for the rest of the lives of all those born in 2009 and later.
Now understand the uniqueness of this law. According to this Act, henceforth the age restriction for buying and selling cigarettes will be strictly enforced. This means that the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes will continue to increase over time. In theory, anyone trying to buy a pack of cigarettes after age 50 needs an ID to prove they are at least 63 years old. However, health officials are hopeful that smoking will decrease in the country even before this. new zealand aims to become a smoke-free country by 2025.
The new law will reduce the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and will limit non-cigarette tobacco to low nicotine content. Speaking when the bill was tabled in parliament, health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall said that there is no good reason to allow the sale of a product that kills half of its users. He can say that they will end this in the near future because they will pass this law and save people. This Act will bring about generational change and better health for the youth, he said.
The Bill was passed in parliament by a margin of 76:43. The ACT Party, which opposed the bill, said banning the sale of cigarettes would cripple business in many small shops. Statistics new zealand reported last month that eight percent of new zealand adults smoke daily, up from 16 percent ten years ago. It is worth noting that new zealand already regulates the sale of cigarettes to those aged 18 and over.
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