Ruth Canty and Marita Hefler
New Zealand has announced it will repeal the country’s world-leading smokefree laws. Faced with a choice between leading a turning point in the global tobacco epidemic or turning back the clock, New Zealand’s new incoming coalition government chose the latter.
The new coalition government is made up of right-wing parties, the National party, together with minor parties ACT and NZ First. The coalition agreement between the National party and the ACT party states that the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 will remove the requirements for denicotinisation and reduction in retail outlets. The smoke-free generation policy will also be repealed.
The incoming finance minister Nicola Willis admitted that tobacco tax revenues would be used to finance tax cuts promised during the election campaign. National’s Party leader and new Prime Minister, Christoper Luxton claimed that the new laws would drive the black market, claims which have been effectively debunked by tobacco control academics and advocates.
Public Health advocates have responded to the news with dismay, including Health Coalition Aotearoa and National Māori Public Health Organisation, Hāpai Te Hauora who have called on the new government to reconsider the move.
The decision must privately have Health Minister (and medical doctor) Dr Shane Reti shaking his head at how he will be able to justify the decision, particularly against his previous support for denicotinisation. Public unity is likely to especially difficult to maintain, given he will have seen the effects of smoking first hand in his early career as a GP, and the incongruity of reversing the biggest cancer prevention strategy in history against causes he has championed as a politician such as lobbying for children with cancer to receive free medicine.
A modelling study published in Tobacco Control earlier this year clearly shows that the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 plan was likely to achieve its aims to rapidly reduce smoking to negligible levels, as shown in the figure below.
Instead, the new government is choosing tax cuts over the health and lives of its citizens.
Ruth Canty is Assistant News Editor for Tobacco Control and is studying for her PhD in tobacco control at Menzies School of Health Research at the Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia. Dr Marita Hefler is the incoming Editor-In-Chief of Tobacco Control and is Associate Professor also at the Menzies School of Health Research at Charles Darwin University.