SMOKEFREE

New Zealand Bans Cigarettes for Future Generations

The legislation is among the strictest in the world.

New Zealand has passed a law to ban sales of cigarettes to future generations, one of the strictest measures in the world to finally end smoking. “Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5 billion better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations,” associate health minister Ayesha Verrall said as the law was passed Tuesday. The law, accompanied by several other measures to ultimately make smoking harder, bans the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. The move is part of a plan to make the country “smokefree” by 2025.