Youths Will Never Hold A Cigarette With Proposed New Zealand Law

New Zealand is potentially creating a future where coming generations will never know what smoking is. Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is looking to pass a law that prohibits teenagers from being able to purchase tobacco products.

The action entails dramatically lowering the nicotine content of cigarettes and limiting their sale to tobacco stores. The change also considerably raises the minimum age for purchase.

The most extreme of all was to make any purchase of tobacco illegal for people born after 2009. This means those 14 years and younger will never legally own cigarettes or cigars. 

However, as the law only applies to products containing tobacco, vaping will continue to be lawful.

According to The Guardian, the vote had reached a near-unanimous agreement when brought to parliament. Opposition National MP Matt Doocey noted that he was worried about the “experimental” nature of the new ruling.

There were also concerns about pushing the industry underground and potentially having to deal with black market sales, while others in parliament weren’t sure how the effects of a country essentially going cold turkey on nicotine would pan out.

Although a move like this is highly radical and unheard of, with how far and wide the fire the tobacco industry has set on our world has spread, perhaps something as far-reaching as this is what is needed to protect younger generations from ever having contact with nicotine, stopping a vicious cycle of addiction before it can begin. 

In the same report, the Guardian notes that the ruling has only gone through the first round of negotiations. While it has reached a majority in favor of imposing the law, it still has many rounds left before the smoke is cleared. If all goes well, the New Zealand government is hoping to implement the new regulation by 2023. 

[via The Guardian and Independent UK, Photo 161375925 © Nopphon Pattanasri | Dreamstime.com]