THE SMOKEFREE ENVIRONMENTS AND REGULATED PRODUCTS (SMOKED TOBACCO) AMENDMENT BILL

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About

New Zealand Parliament passed the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill to increase the legal age to buy tobacco products each year, to ultimately phase out smoking altogether.
- It also introduced some restrictions on tobacco products, such as limiting the number of shops allowed to sell tobacco products and the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes and other consumables tobacco items.
It bans the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008. Violating the provision will attract a fine of up to NZ$150,000 (Rs 79 lakh approximately).
The bill limits the number of retailers able to sell smoked tobacco products in the country to 600 from the 6,000 at present and reduces the amount of nicotine allowed in such tobacco products.
Critics of the bill have indicated that the strict curbs on the sale of tobacco products would kill off small shops and force people onto the black market.
Present status: The rate of smoking in New Zealand is already very low, According to a health survey published by the government in November 2022, “8.0% of adults were daily smokers in 2021-22, down from 9.4% the previous year.