New Zealand's tobacco plan a 'game changer'

The world will be watching New Zealand closely as it prepares to consider legislation that will limit the sale of tobacco, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking altogether.

Under the proposed legislation, expected to be put before Parliament early next year, anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime.

"We want to make sure young people never start smoking," Ayesha Verrall, New Zealand's associate health minister, said on Dec 9 when announcing implementation of the government's Smoke-free 2025 Action Plan.

Under the plan, authorities aim to reduce the national smoking rate to below 5 percent by 2025, with a goal of eventually bringing it down to zero.

Doctors and health experts have welcomed the "world-leading "reforms, which will reduce access to tobacco and restrict nicotine levels in cigarettes.

If enacted as expected next year, people ages 14 and under will not be allowed to legally purchase tobacco in New Zealand, with the legal smoking age rising each year.

A Maori Advisory Taskforce is being created to help achieve better outcomes for Maori indigenous people, while support measures will be prioritized to help current smokers quit and to prevent people from lighting up in the first place.

As of now, 13 percent of New Zealand's adults smoke, while the rate is almost 29 percent among the indigenous Maori adult population. Maori also suffer higher rates of disease and death.

According to the health ministry, smoking causes one in four cancers and remains the leading cause of preventable death for the nation's 5 million people. The tobacco industry has been the target of lawmakers for more than a decade, but with little effect.

Natalie Walker, associate professor in population health and director of the Centre for Addiction Research at the faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, described the government's action plan as a "game changer" in the fight against smoking.

"New Zealand once again leads the world, … this time with a cutting-edge smoke-free 2025 implementation plan," Walker said in an interview with China Daily.

"We know from experience that utilizing a combination of policy interventions will have the biggest impact on tobacco use in New Zealand, particularly in those populations with higher smoking rates than the general population. The proposed combination of policies is perfect."

Janet Hoek, a professor of public health at the University of Otago, Wellington, said the government's plan recognizes that the death of 4,500 people each year from diseases caused by smoking is "completely unacceptable".

"The measures outlined draw on robust research evidence and will save thousands of New Zealanders from a painful and premature death," she told China Daily.

"For the first time since the smoke-free 2025 goal was announced 10 years ago, we have a realistic prospect of achieving and sustaining the goal."

Health experts say New Zealand's plan will have global implications that could change the WHO's trajectory and make ending what is seen as a smoking pandemic a realistic prospect.

Chris Bullen, a professor of public health at the University of Auckland, said, "As a doctor, tobacco control researcher and advocate for many years, I was hoping to see a plan that would have the best chance of getting rid of the harm and misery caused by tobacco smoking, for all people in Aotearoa." Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.

Bullen said the action plan is "very good news".

"If implemented as outlined, it could just be the single most significant step we take as a nation in reducing preventable death and disease and reducing health inequities in the next few years."

Collin Tukuitonga, a professor and associate dean at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, said the government is to be "commended" for a trendsetting strategy to accelerate the reduction of smoking.

"It is important that a focus on these efforts should be in neighborhoods where Maori and Pacific people live," he said.

"Experience with the COVID-19 vaccination rollout has reminded us of the importance and impact of community-led events. Maori and Pacific communities should be trusted, empowered and resourced to lead the design and delivery of community information and education," Tukuitonga told China Daily.

A focus on Maori and Pacific smoking "would accelerate our progress towards a smoke-free Aotearoa", he added.