The New Zealand government has announced it will introduce tobacco plain packaging. The announcement follows cabinet consideration of a public consultation process, held in late 2012, which received approximately 300 substantive submissions together with an additional 20,000 responses. The announcement puts New Zealand on track to become the second country in the world to introduce plain packaging. In order to manage potential legal risks, the government will wait to see the outcome of legal processes in Australia, with the intention of introducing legislation before the end of 2013. According to the government, tobacco is responsible for approximately 5000 deaths per year.

Read the full New Zealand government statement here.