History
Background
On 9 December 2021, Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall confirmed that the New Zealand Government would seek to fulfill the Smokefree 2025 goal by introducing new legislation banning anyone under the age of 14 from legally purchasing tobacco for the rest of their lives. Older generations will only be permitted to buy tobacco products with very low-levels of nicotine while fewer retailers will be allowed to sell tobacco products. The Government's announcement was welcomed by the Green Party and several health experts including New Zealand Medical Association chair Dr Alistair Humphrey, Health Coalition Aotearoa smokefree expert advisory group chair Sally Liggins, and University of Auckland Associate Dean of Pacific Collin Tukuitonga, who stated that it would deal with the health effects of smoking on the public including the Māori and Pasifika communities. By contrast, the opposition ACT Party's health spokesperson Karen Chhour criticised the proposed law, arguing that prohibition did not work and would create a black market for tobacco products. [7] [8]
First reading
The Bill passed its first reading on 27 July 2022 by a margin of 109 to 10 votes. While the bill was supported by the governing Labour Party, the allied Green Party, the opposition National, and Māori parties, it was opposed by the libertarian ACT Party. [4] [9] Supporters of the bill including its sponsor Dr Verrall, fellow Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) Dr. Tangi Utikere, and Tracey McLellan, argued that it would address the harmful impact of smoking on the public particularly the Māori community. [4]
National Party MPs of including Dr Shane Reti, Matt Doocey, Simon Watts, and Michael Woodhouse expressed support for the Bill's goal to combat the health effects of smoking but expressed concerned about its experimental nature and enforceability. Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick and Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer supported the bill's efforts to limit the availability of tobacco products but questioned the effectiveness of reducing nicotine content and prohibition respectively. The ACT Party's deputy-leader Brooke van Velden opposed the bill on the grounds that it limited individual rights and argued that measures to limit smoking could increasing organised crime. [4] [9]
Select Committee
The Health Committee released its final report on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill on 28 November 2022. The majority of its members recommended that the legislation be passed with amendments including:
- Specifying that Clause 19(2) comes into force on 1 January 2027. This would ensure that the prohibition of sales to individuals under 18 years old would remain until the smokefree generation provisions began on 1 January 2027.
- Clarifying the criteria for approving a smoked tobacco and specialist vape retailers.
- Clarifying the application process for smoked tobacco retailers.
- Setting the criteria for setting the maximum number of tobacco retailers based on population size, the number of people, geographical nature of the area, and the views of local residents.
- Setting a cap of 600 tobacco retailers across New Zealand.
- Extending the notification to all notifiable products including vaping and smoked tobacco products. The sellers of all notifiable products will also be required to renew their notifications annually.
- Limiting the number of automatic vending machines selling tobacco products.
- Clarifying the visa status of smoke tobacco product sellers.
- Clarifying that manufacturers and importers will be responsible for cover testing requirements of smoked tobacco products.
- Specifying a maximum limit of 0.8mg/g of nicotine for any smoked tobacco product, which will come into effect 27 months after the legislation commenced.
- Removing the requirement for the Crown to prove a men reas element (mental element to the offending) selling, manufacturing, and importing smoked tobacco products after their approval has been suspended.
- Increasing the fine imposed on manufacturers and importers for failing to conduct certain tests from NZ$10,000 to NZ$50,000.
- Creating an offence for failing to conduct certain tests.
- Introducing regulations to regulate cigarette filters. [10]
The National Party expressed concerns that reducing the number of licensed tobacco retailers to 600 and the two-year adjustment timeframe would hurt the livelihoods of many small businesses. National also opined that the "smokefree generation" concept had not been applied widely internationally and that more time was needed to assess its effectiveness. While the National Party supported the Bill's denicotisation provisions, it expressed concern that the Bill's vaping provisions were insufficient to addressing the problem. Due to these concerns, the National Party withdrew its support for the legislation. [10]
The ACT Party opposed the Bill on the grounds that limits on the nicotine levels in tobacco products would increase smuggling and organised crime. The party also disagreed with empowering the Director-General of Health to determine which retailers should be allowed to sell cigarettes'. [10]
Second reading
The Smokefree Environments Bill passed its second reading on 6 December 2022 by a margin of 74 to 41. The majority of parliamentarians also voted to adopt the amendments recommended by the Health Committee. The Bill was supported by Labour and the Greens and opposed by the National and ACT parties. Labour and Green MPs including the bill's sponsor Ayesha Verrall, Tangi Utikere, Dr Tracey McLellan, Chlöe Swarbrick, and Neru Leavasa argued that the Bill would help reduce smoking addiction and its adverse health effects on vulnerable and impoverished communities. National and ACT MPs including Dr Shane Reti, Harete Hipango, Brooke van Velden, Penny Simmonds, and Maureen Pugh argued that the Bill would hurt the economic livelihood of small businesses and that banning tobacco would encourage black marketing and other criminal activities. [11]
In committee
On 8 December 2022, Parliament voted to amend the Smokefree Environments Bill to include herbal smoking products within the scope of the Bill. This loophole is intended to prevent nicotine from being added to herbal smoking products. The majority of MPs also rejected National health spokesperson Dr Reti's proposed amendments to the Bill. [12]
Third reading
On 13 December, the Smokefree Environment Bill passed its third and final reading by a margin of 76 to 43 votes. While Labour, the Greens, and the Māori Party voted in favour of the Bill, it was opposed by the National and ACT parties. Verrall talked about the harm caused by tobacco to communities. Dr Reti criticised the Government for targeting retailers rather than pursuing a denicotisation strategy. Green MP Swarbrick questioned the National Party's commitment to evidence-based policy-making and combating tobacco addiction. ACT Deputy Leader Van Velden described the Bill as "nanny-State prohibition" that would cause more harm and crime in the community. Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer argued that the Bill would reduce tobacco harm among young people and the Māori community. [13] The Guardian reported that the legislation is believed to internationally be the first to set "an annually rising legal smoking age". [14]
Repeal
The National Party signed a coalition agreement with the ACT Party and New Zealand First on Friday, 24 November 2023. [15] The National Party had not included the repeal in its election manifesto but the ACT and New Zealand First parties had committed to repealing it. [3] Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claimed that the Smokefree legislation was flawed on the grounds that it allegedly discriminated against people on the basis of age and that restrictions on the sale of tobacco products would create a black market and encourage ram-raiding. [16] Written into the coalition agreement was the repeal of the smokefree legislation. During the election campaign, National had proposed a foreign buyers' tax for New Zealand real estate, which had to be scrapped due to opposition by New Zealand First, leaving a significant funding shortfall in their tax plan. On 25 November, National's incoming Finance Minister Nicola Willis revealed that her party agreed to repealing the smokefree legislation so that this tax shortfall can be covered; the smokefree legislation had been predicted to cause a NZ$1 billion tax shortfall per year. [15]
On 27 February 2024, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello confirmed that the Government would introduce the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill to repeal the three components of the Smokefree legislation: the retail reduction scheme, de-nicotisation and the smokefree generation measures. [17] [18] The Smokefree Amendment Bill passed its third reading on 28 February 2024. Labour leader Chris Hipkins crticised the repeal of Smokefree legislation, stating that the Government lacked a moral compass and serving the interests of the tobacco lobby. He said that the repeal legislation would increase smoking in New Zealand and would worsen Māori health outcomes. [2]
Domestic reaction
The proposed repeal was criticised by former Health Minister and Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall, University of Otago tobacco control researcher Professor Richard Edwards, New Zealand's Action for Smokefree 2025 committee chair Emeritus Prof Robert Beaglehole, and Māori health organisation Hāpai Te Hauora, who argued that the repeal would have adverse effects on the health and well-being of New Zealanders particularly Māori. [19] [3] Māori health researcher Lisa Te Morenga, who co-chairs the Health Coalition Aotearoa, called the repeal a "completely backwards step" and pointed to other countries being in the process of emulating the legislative approach of the legislation. [20] Public health doctor and academic Collin Tukuitonga called the government's move "immoral and embarrassing internationally" as well as "unethical", pointing to lower-income communities having to live with worse health outcomes as their smoking rates are higher. [21]
In December 2023, anti-smoking campaigners submitted a 45,000-strong petition to Parliament denouncing the proposed repeal of Smokefree legislation. [22] In early February 2024, Beverly Te Huia and the smokefree coalition Te Rōpū Tupeka Kore (including Sue Taylor, Hone Harawira and Shane Bradbrook) filed two separate Waitangi Tribunal claims opposing the Government's proposed repeal of Smokefree legislation. [23] [24] In response to the legal challenges, NZ First MP and cabinet minister Shane Jones reiterated his threat to review the Waitangi Tribunal's scope and claimed that voters had supported a reset. [25]
In late February 2024, University of Otago public health researcher Professor Janet Hoek criticised the introduction of the Government's repeal legislation, saying that it would overturn efforts made to encourage smokers to quit smoking and discourage young people from taking up smoking. [17] Hoek also criticised the Government's decision not to allow a conscience vote on the repeal legislation or to expose it to a select committee or Waitangi Tribunal hearing. Otago University Associate Professor and ASPIRE Research Centre co-director Andrew Waa said the repeal would undermine efforts to achieve a Smokefree Aotearoa and cause thousands of "unnecessary" deaths, particularly among Māori. [26] By contrast, ACT spokesperson Todd Stephenson welcomed the repeal of the Smokefree legislation, which he described as a "dopey experiment in prohibition". He also said that an attempted crackdown on smoking would have created a black market for criminal gangs. [17]
On 25 February 2024, a 1 News-Verian poll found that 60% of respondents opposed the Government's removal of smokefree legislation. 30% supported the repeal while 10% stated that they didn't know or refused to answer the question. The poll surveyed 1,002 eligible voters between 10 and 14 February. Segments most opposed to the smokefree repeal were Green and Labour parties supporters, Wellington residents, women aged 18 to 49, those with an annual household income over NZ$150,000, European New Zealanders, and university graduates. Segments most supportive of the smokefree repeal were ACT and National parties supporters, men aged 35 to 54, Auckland residents and non-university graduates. [27]
International reaction
The BBC reported that Rishi Sunak's ministry adopted its idea for their recent smokefree policy from New Zealand's legislation. It has been confirmed that Rishi Sunak's position remains unchanged following New Zealand's policy u-turn. [28] The British policy approach is the same, with anyone now aged 14 or under never being able to buy cigarettes. [29]
The New York Times praised the liberal approach taken by the previous Labour government and focussed on the foreign buyers tax income lost in the coalition agreement that had to be covered by other tax revenue as the reason for scrapping the smokefree legislation. [30] The American news magazine Time outlined that the move was seen as a win for the tobacco industry. [31]
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) opinioned that the incoming government "will jettison world-leading measures to stub out smoking". [32] An article in the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times focussed on the motivation for the reversal of the smokefree legislation to fund tax cuts. [33]
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.
The Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that prohibits smoking in all workplaces including offices, clubs, pubs, restaurants, airports, and schools.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigarette and tobacco sales.
Because of the damage to health due to smoking in the United Kingdom it may be the first country to ban sales of cigarettes to people born after 2008.
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free. The smoking rate in New Zealand was about 8% as of 2023 when the new government planned to eliminate the nation's smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use tobacco, tobacco control also concerns these. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco itself, but (often) do contain nicotine. Tobacco control is a priority area for the World Health Organization (WHO), through the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. References to a tobacco control movement may have either positive or negative connotations, depending upon the commentator.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. The Act placed smoking restrictions on indoor spaces, banned smoking on public transport and established the Health Sponsorship Council. The bill was introduced by Helen Clark, then Minister of Health and later Prime Minister. Clark would later refer to the law as "one of my proudest achievements as a politician". It was amended by the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003, which completely eliminated smoking in workspaces, by the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020, which renamed the Act and brought it "up to date", and by the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022.
SmokinginCanada is banned in indoor public spaces, public transit facilities and workplaces, by all territories and provinces, and by the federal government. As of 2010, legislation banning smoking within each of these jurisdictions is mostly consistent, despite the separate development of legislation by each jurisdiction. Notable variations between the jurisdictions include: whether, and in what circumstances ventilated smoking rooms are permitted; whether, and up to what distance away from a building is smoking banned outside of a building; and, whether smoking is banned in private vehicles occupied by children.
Plain tobacco packaging, also known as generic, neutral, standardised or homogeneous packaging, is packaging of tobacco products, typically cigarettes, without any branding, including only the brand name in a mandated size, font and place on the pack, in addition to the health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps. The appearance of all tobacco packs is standardised, including the colour of the pack.
Regulation of electronic cigarettes varies across countries and states, ranging from no regulation to banning them entirely. As of 2015, around two thirds of major nations have regulated e-cigarettes in some way.
Shane Raymond Reti is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister of Health and Minister for Pacific Peoples, since 27 November 2023. He was first elected at the 2014 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Whangārei electorate. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy leader from 10 November 2020 to 30 November 2021 including a period of five days as interim leader following the ousting of Judith Collins.
The scientific community in the United States and Europe are primarily concerned with the possible effect of electronic cigarette use on public health. There is concern among public health experts that e-cigarettes could renormalize smoking, weaken measures to control tobacco, and serve as a gateway for smoking among youth. The public health community is divided over whether to support e-cigarettes, because their safety and efficacy for quitting smoking is unclear. Many in the public health community acknowledge the potential for their quitting smoking and decreasing harm benefits, but there remains a concern over their long-term safety and potential for a new era of users to get addicted to nicotine and then tobacco. There is concern among tobacco control academics and advocates that prevalent universal vaping "will bring its own distinct but as yet unknown health risks in the same way tobacco smoking did, as a result of chronic exposure", among other things.
A vape shop is a retail outlet specializing in the selling of vaping products, though shops selling derived psychoactive cannabis products have increased since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. There are also online vape shops. A vape shop offers a range of vaping products. The majority of vape shops do not sell vaping products that are from "Big Tobacco" companies. In 2013, online search engine searches on vape shops surpassed searches on e-cigarettes. Around a third of all sales of vaping products take place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent vape market is a threat to their interests.
The Smokefree Coalition was established as a national organisation in New Zealand in 1995 to advocate for tobacco control interventions by government and non-government organisations (NGOs). Its founding organisations were the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand, the Cancer Society of New Zealand, Action on Smoking and Health, Te Hotu Manawa Māori and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand. It ceased operation on 30 June 2016.
The 53rd New Zealand Parliament was a meeting of the legislature in New Zealand. It opened on 25 November 2020 following the 17 October 2020 general election, and dissolved on 8 September 2023 to trigger the next election. It consisted of 120 members of Parliament (MPs) with five parties represented: the Labour and Green parties, in government, and the National, Māori and ACT parties, in opposition. The Sixth Labour Government held a majority in this Parliament. Jacinda Ardern continued as prime minister until her resignation on 25 January 2023; she was succeeded by Chris Hipkins.
Karen Louise Chhour is a New Zealand politician. She has been a member of parliament for ACT New Zealand since the 2020 general election.
The Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 11900, is a law in the Philippines which aims to regulate the "importation, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products", such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. It lapsed into law on July 25, 2022. As a proposed measure, the law was known as the Vape Regulation Bill.
Cassandra Jane "Casey" Costello is a right-wing New Zealand politician, lobbyist and former police officer. She was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, representing the New Zealand First party, in the 2023 New Zealand general election. She was appointed Minister of Customs, Minister for Seniors and Associate Minister of Health in the Sixth National Government of New Zealand.
Vanessa Joan Weenink is a New Zealand politician. She was elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Banks Peninsula, representing the National Party, in the 2023 New Zealand general election. She is a doctor by training.
The Sixth National Government is a coalition government comprising the National Party, ACT Party and New Zealand First that has governed New Zealand since November 2023. The government is headed by Christopher Luxon, the National Party leader and prime minister.
