New Zealand AXES its world-first smoking ban aimed at stopping children from ever taking up the habit: Plan is ditched to fund tax cuts – weeks after Rishi Sunak announced similar move

New Zealand has abolished its world’s first smoking ban, aimed at preventing children from picking up the habit.

The move, to fund tax cuts, comes weeks after Rishi Sunak officially unveiled his bold plan to ban smoking in Britain.

New Zealand legislation, introduced under the previous government led by Jacinda Ardern, would have banned the sale of cigarettes next year to anyone born after 2008.

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand and health experts have spoken out against the sudden reversal.

Anti-smoking group Health Coalition Aotearoa – the Maori name for New Zealand – said the policy’s withdrawal was an insult to the country.

“This is a major loss for public health and a huge win for the tobacco industry, whose profits will soar at the cost of Kiwi lives,” the group said in a statement.

Christopher Luxon was sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand on Monday. Luxon said the cigarette ban would ‘create an opportunity for the emergence of a black market, which would be largely untaxed’

Christopher Luxon was sworn in as New Zealand’s prime minister on Monday and said improving the economy is his top priority.

The 53-year-old former businessman is leading a conservative coalition after his National Party struck a deal with two smaller parties on Friday following last month’s general election.

Luxon said the cigarette ban would “create an opportunity for the emergence of a black market, which would be largely untaxed.”

The legislation, passed in 2022, was praised around the world and included measures such as lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes and limiting the number of tobacco outlets.

Modeling suggested that up to 5,000 lives could have been saved annually by the smoking ban laws.

But newsagents and convenience store owners criticized the loss of income caused by the Smokefree measures, even when government subsidies were taken into account.

The National party had not discussed smoke-free laws during the election campaign.

The announcement that the government would repeal the laws was made on Saturday by new Finance Minister Nicola Willis.

Willis said the other parties in the coalition – the libertarian ACT and the populist New Zealand First – had “insisted” on the turnaround.

Despite the election victory, the centre-right National party has been struggling for weeks with policy negotiations to form a government with the two smaller parties.

The deal to form a government with the two smaller parties was only agreed six weeks after the elections on Friday, after which the government was sworn in on Monday.

New Zealand First was the only party to campaign for the repeal of smoking laws.

New Zealand’s laws are believed to have inspired Sunak’s government to announce a similar smoking ban in September to prevent young people from taking up smoking.

Under Sunak’s flagship proposal, which he called the ‘biggest public health intervention in a generation’, anyone born after 2009 will be banned from ever buying cigarettes.

If passed, the age at which people can purchase tobacco would be raised by one year annually, putting legal smoking out of reach for anyone under the age of 14 today.

Charities and experts have urged politicians to quickly pass the bill into law and not let pressure groups undermine the aim of making Britain ‘smoke-free’.

Under Sunak’s flagship proposal, which he called the ‘biggest public health intervention in a generation’, anyone born after 2009 will be banned from ever buying cigarettes (File Photo)

But conservative think tanks branded Sunak’s plan as an attack on people’s freedoms and warned the ban – a replica of New Zealand’s – would only drive future smokers into the arms of the black market.

Charities and experts have urged politicians to quickly pass the bill into law and not let pressure groups undermine the aim of making Britain ‘smoke-free’.

But conservative think tanks branded Sunak’s plan as an attack on people’s freedoms and warned the ban – a replica of New Zealand’s – would only drive future smokers into the arms of the black market.

One expert warned that Sunak’s push for a smoke-free generation could still go up in smoke.

Richard Murray, chief executive of health and care think tank The King’s Fund, said: ‘Passing the smoking ban legislation would be a significant milestone, and the Government should then have the courage to implement the ban quickly.

‘Disappointingly, we have recently seen other measures to protect people from ill health, such as banning junk food advertising to help combat obesity, have been included in law, but their implementation has been delayed.