New Zealand imposes lifetime ban on young buying cigarettes.
New Zealand is believed to be the first country in the world to implement an annually rising smoking age, ensuring tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
Interesting move. I see very few people smoking in public here already. Like the huge majority, I don’t smoke, so it doesn’t bother me or will be a topic of conversation.
Can see a scenario in the future where Grandma won’t be able to get her kids to grab some smokes on her behalf, because they breach the age limit.
On the subject of "catch(sic) a smoke"
Cadge a morning tar and put it in your pocket save it for another day
Cadge a morning tar then light it, suck and cock it in the most pretentious way
Why is any of this considered news? In America youth cannot buy cigarettes unless they are a certain age and smokers end up getting cigarettes anyway.
I think the difference is this new NZ law means that anyone born after Ist January 2009 will NEVER be allowed to purchase tobacco products, regardless of how old they become.
@Marionville That’s absolutely correct, so it’s considered to be newsworthy.
@Zealandia Of course it’s newsworthy. I really don’t think DenoPenno read it properly and therefore didn’t understand it’s implications fully,
@Marionville I agree with you there. Lifetime ban is quite something to get your head around.
@Marionville You may be correct but my remark goes to the fact that in America you cannot buy cigarettes unless you are a certain age by law and the smokers still get cigarettes. If this NZ law says that people born after January1st 2009 will never be able to buy smokes ever, we know there is a way around that. Anyone heard of fake ID's?
In the UK from 1908 until 2007, the minimum age to purchase and consume tobacco products in public was 16 years of age. From 1 October 2007, the Children and Young Persons (Sale of Tobacco etc.) Order 2007 became effective, raising the minimum purchase age to 18 years of age.
Are the NZ government not scared that this is going to create a massive under ground gangster, black market for tobacco? As with prohibition in the US in the 20's and 30's?
However when I was a boy I used to be able to buy my Dad's cigs for him if I had a note of permission, I even remember dogs going in to shops with wicker baskets in their teeth containing a note and money to buy cigs, no one ever batted an eyelid be cause everyone smoked.
Of course I see now more and more of my school friends dieing in their fifties and sixties, almost all from lung related problems, but growing up in the industrial north east, smokers or not we all grew up breathing a cocktail of lead, sulfur and carbon monoxide based pollution anyway.
The issue of black market tobacco was considered and I’m sure will be monitored. For various reasons, probably due to border controls and distance from other countries, untaxed tobacco doesn’t seem to be an issue. At the moment, anyway.
I lived in the uk for a number of years, non taxed tobacco seemed to be readily available judging by the rubbish floating around on the streets.
@Zealandia
Brexit brought an end to cheap tobacco and untaxed booze, when we lost freedom of movement.
@LenHazell53 No matter which side of the fence you were on, the whole Brexit process was a total mess. I think most people can agree on that.
When the vote to legalise weed is passed will you be obliged to mull up with leaves?
I got the light on the night that they passed legislation
I saw the flickering shadows of smoke so unkind
It was my go to
Now it's relieved me I grow all the herbs I can find
My, my, my, Jacinda
Why, why, why, Jacinda
I could see, smoking was no good for me
But I was told to behave or leave for ozzie
Love the song
Classified as a noxious weed here.
There was a referendum here a couple of years ago, with a very close result:
Official results were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020 with 50.7% of voters opposing the legalisation and 48.4% in support
This is what we need in Australia, but our govt has not got the gusts to stand up to the tobacco lobby.
Besides ye who pays the piper calls the tune.The tobacco companies contribute generously to party coffers.
I’m surprised, Oz frequently has quite hard line policies as well. I’m thinking of the 501 deportation guidelines here..
Joking aside, I’m sure that NZ’s anti smoking policies will have an influence on smoking legislation across the ditch eventually. The laws seem pretty tough by global standards already.