Breaking News: A Global First - New Zealand Passes Tobacco Endgame Bill Package.
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
WASHINGTON,
DC – DECEMBER 13, 2022 – Today, the New Zealand Parliament adopted the strongest anti-tobacco
law in world history. Once
implemented, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco)
Amendment Bill is expected to phase out the tobacco epidemic in the country and
set a global example of what is possible when policymakers, researchers and
advocates unite to follow the data and protect their citizens.
Other countries have already vowed to follow suit.
“Today, history was made for public health and for the generations of families
who have lost loved ones to the preventable diseases caused by ordinary tobacco
use,” said Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Executive Director Laurent Huber.
“New Zealand has single-handedly changed the course of what is possible in
tobacco regulations and we stand ready to help other jurisdictions follow their
groundbreaking lead.”
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment
Act includes three novel components attacking the tobacco epidemic from
different angles.
First, it will ban the
commercial sale of combustible tobacco products to anyone born on or after
January 1, 2009. The concept, called “Smoke-Free Generation” or
SFG, can also be characterized as a sales ban with a grandfather clause for
existing adults who smoke. New Zealand will be only the third jurisdiction to
pass such a law, following Balanga City in the Philippines – which has been
unable to implement the law due to litigation – and Brookline, Massachusetts,
which implemented a similar law (tobacco-free generation) in January 2021 and
successfully defended an industry lawsuit in October 2022. Unlike New Zealand,
Balanga City and Brookline banned sales to anyone born this century, and
included all tobacco products, rather than a focus on combustibles.
“It’s important to stress that the Smoke-Free Generation law applies only to
sales of combustible tobacco,” stressed Huber from ASH, which has endorsed SFG
for years. “The law does not outlaw individual purchase, possession or use – or
the act of smoking. The problem here is the tobacco industry, not their
victims.”
The second leg of the law
is a drastic reduction in the number of retailers – researchers estimate that
the final reduction may be as much as 95%. Numerous studies
have shown that people who smoke – like people who face any addiction –– find
it easier to kick their addiction if cigarettes aren’t staring them in the face
in every store.
Finally, the new law
includes reducing nicotine content in cigarettes to below-addictive levels.
Nicotine addiction is the driving force of the tobacco epidemic. Reducing it
will make it far less likely for children to start smoking and far easier for
adults to quit.
New Zealand was the first of the so-called “ASPIRE” countries that have set
bold tobacco endgame goals. In 2010, the New Zealand Ministry of Health
announced its intention to drive smoking prevalence below 5% by 2025. After
reviewing progress toward this goal a few years ago, researchers realized that
demand-reduction measures like taxation and smoke-free air laws would not be
enough to reach the goal.
“Many countries have set aggressive tobacco control goals over the years,”
continued Huber. “They almost never achieve them, and simply set a new goal. New Zealand deserves enormous credit for
instead changing their strategy and remaining committed to their goal.”
The Smokefree Aotearoa process was largely driven by the country’s native Maori
community, who smoke at a far higher prevalence than the general population and
face more consequences as a result. The
most significant aspect of the new approach is a focus on supply rather than
demand, spurred by a growing recognition that the blame for the tobacco
epidemic falls squarely on the tobacco industry rather than the users of its
products.
“Nearly all adults who smoke were intentionally addicted as children,” said
Huber. “The industry has spent half a century perfecting the cigarette as an
addiction machine. They are far more addictive – and therefore dangerous – than
they were at the height of smoking in the U.S., in the 1960s.”
Other jurisdictions in the U.S. are expected to follow Brookline, MA now that
they have successfully defended their law in court, and at least a dozen
countries have voiced their intention to follow New Zealand’s approach,
including Singapore, Malaysia and the European Union.
New Zealand has no doubt changed the public health landscape and set the new
standard for regulating away the tobacco epidemic.
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