NZ’s gutsy anti-tobacco law aims to gradually ban smoking forever – anyone born after Jan 1, 2009 are prohibited from buying cigarettes in the country.
Ie, In 2033, those under 24 years of age will be prohibited from buying cigarettes. And by 2043, it will be illegal for those under 34 to get cigarettes in NZ…so on and so forth until the country’s entire population is to be banned from smoking.
Of course, for this policy to be effective it’s crucial for NZ’s law enforcement to provide adequate support, because it’s foreseeable that there will be an increasingly lucrative market for contraband tobacco.
Take Canada for example: An estimated C$2 Billion (according to Imperial Tobacco Canada) in taxes are lost due to the illicit tobacco market.
Contraband cigarettes are popular because they are way cheaper ie, at approximately 1/3 the market price of their legal counterpart.
Contraband tobacco also poses tremendous health risks to users, as there’s no way of knowing which harmful substances are inhaled when smokers puff on something that’s illegal.
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