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New Zealand's plan to end smoking: A lifetime ban for youth

53 Comments
By NICK PERRY

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53 Comments

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Kids in jail on tobacco offences, organized crime making millions and uncle bob making money buying 30 packs a week at the local shop and selling them on to kids.

9 ( +19 / -10 )

“We all want a smoke-free New Zealand,” he said

Oh yeah? Really? We all want that?

Who are these we all?

I can not imagine that the smoking people belong to that we all.

-1 ( +15 / -16 )

Kids in jail on tobacco offences

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

7 ( +15 / -8 )

It would be better if people were simply smart enough to not smoke.......

11 ( +16 / -5 )

This is a good thing. Unfortunately there will always be an underground market for these death sticks. Australian customs seize millions of illegally imported cigarettes every year. Couldn’t see this happening in Japan with the government owning 49% of Japan Tobacco.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Outlawing addictive substances is not the way to mitigate the harm those substances cause.

This is just due to a failure to enforce on the part of certain Western countries so you end up with both harsh punishments for individuals while mountains of drugs continue to flow in freely. Meanwhile plenty of NE Asian countries have had plenty of success with zero tolerance thanks to them actually enforcing it. People talk about the 'war on drugs' in the US as if that's actually truly been a thing, when that term was literally coined at a time when the CIA was facilitating drugs coming in to the US. There has never actually been a war on drugs to begin with.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

I do have to admit, this one is difficult for me. I feel adults should be able to make stupid adult decisions.

Maybe make the sale of tobacco illegal, but allow growth and possession of it.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Golden and good new please put them cancer causing greedy cigarettes companies out of business all they are doing is making profit with cancer

3 ( +8 / -5 )

This is just due to a failure to enforce on the part of certain Western countries

No, the idea that drugs can be prevented by making them illegal has been proven by having never been successful anywhere, any time, in the history of humanity.

But keep pushing your outdated dinosaur ideals of dealing with a mental health issue through the law, because doing the same thing and expecting a different result is what smart people do, right?

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

There is nice movie out, "Insider".

With Al Pacino and Russel Crowe.

That movie says all about the smoking industry.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Giving up smoking is easy, but staying stop is hard.

.

Took me over a year and six attempts before i stopped after smoking for over twenty years.

.

Hope this becomes law and ends smoking there in the future.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The new law wouldn't impact vaping. 

That's good to know, I switched to vaping about 5 years ago. A friend lent me a vape kit on a Friday and I was done with cigs by Monday. I know there's nothing better for you than fresh air but as BigYen stated above there are some social aspects of smoking I still enjoy.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Azzprin

Giving up smoking is easy, but staying stop is hard.

That's the honest truth, longest I went without smoking before was 2 weeks cause of a bad cold. Felt great actually, but a night out with the fellas and some beers.....got a smoke from one of them, then to the combini I went.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

smoking is disgusting....nothing worse than having a meal and somebody at a nearby table lights up belches their filth all over your food.

Outright bans never seem to work though, just pushes it underground......taking away the market for these products would be more effective, companies only think about their bottom line. If there is no one to buy their products, they won't make money and if they don't make money then they won't make the product.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

people only like smoking because of the drug effect upon them......else they would simply smoke sticks or some other inert plant matter in place of it. Of course people don't do that because it tastes foul, you taste and stink of smoke and you severely damage your lungs through smoke inhalation.....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Smoking should be banned worldwide. It is a filthy vile and antisocial habit which pollutes clean air. Btw that health minister in pic does not look very healthy, extremely overweight.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Btw that health minister in pic does not look very healthy, extremely overweight.

They always are lol

0 ( +4 / -4 )

This’ll remove a major target for ram raids and hold ups of corner dairies and service stations. A good thing. I know a few dairies have stopped selling tobacco products citing that very reason.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Seems like a reasonable approach, a lot of these blanket bans get caught up banning all affiliated products like vaping nicotine, which just serves to drive more people back to smoking. I quit by vaping and would never want to go back now. Glad to see NZ realises it is a substantial improvement over cigs, even if obviously not inhaling anything would be better.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This authoritatian attempt just shows how evil the left is. Already, 90% plus of adults are non smokers. The smoking percentage of the population has been steadily decreasing. Yet that is not enough. Gotta plant the boot squarely on the neck of those holdouts!

It is easy to legislate, but hard to persuade. Do you really want men with guns going shop to shop and enforcing compliance? Throwing people in cages for illegal possession? Ironic in the days where cannabis products are being legalized world over.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Anyway, I like the law and I like the approach

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I don't like smoking either but stop trying to control people's private lives for God's sake.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

When I grew up, ash trays were part of the seats in bus’s, trains, cinema, airplanes, Teachers smoked in the class room, F1Drivers smoked, and were sponsored by tobacco companies. Sailing a million dollar yacht required a smoke, James Bond was a chain smoker, for me I’ve been programmed to link success to tobacco. I grew up with it, it is so ingrained into my daily life, routine as a youth.

I have long said cut off those of the new generation, (as Nz have proposed) and make people my age visit a doctor to get tobacco and offer have access to help. It’s well too late for me.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Outlawing addictive substances is not the way to mitigate the harm those substances cause. We know this from the ever-so-successful war on drugs in the US and trends after legalization/decriminalization I’m certain jurisdictions.

This isn't really analogous to the war on drugs though. New Zealand is not criminalizing tobacco, its new law merely bans retail stores from selling cigarettes to people born after a certain date. No kids are going to prison for possession of cigarettes or anything like that.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Never been a smoker, but can sympathise with those who have and quit. It's an awful habit.

But trying to ban it will turn out the same as attempts to ban other addictive substances. Keeping tobacco legal is not a perfect solution, but controlling and taxing to pay for the damage it is better than driving it underground with the accompanying criminal activity that entails.

What used to be the laid-back little ol' New Zealand is turning into quite the laboratory for authoritarianism.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

And can they at least find an associate health minister who looks healthy. Hardly a role model.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

...and if you don't like the message, body-shame the messenger?

0 ( +5 / -5 )

No, the idea that drugs can be prevented by making them illegal has been proven by having never been successful anywhere, any time, in the history of humanity.

I don't think this is true. I mean, it would be unrealistic to think a country could 100% eliminate all drugs from itself using the law, so I don't think that is a reasonable standard of success. The standard is whether or not the country has done a good job of minimizing the harmful effects of drug use.

Japan certainly seems to have done a reasonably good job in those terms, to name one example. There are certainly illicit drugs being used here, but nowhere near on the same level as in the US or some other countries (like my home country Canada where opiod deaths are happening on a massive scale). Japan seems to be successful, and it has pretty strict drug laws.

I mean, Japan's success is not solely attributable to its drug laws, but at the same time I think it would be idiotic to argue that Japan's drug situation would be better if it legalized all drugs.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

For clarity I detest smoking, but have to wonder if this kind of ban would also apply to smoking marijuana?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

cleoToday  12:40 pm JST

...and if you don't like the message, body-shame the messenger?

Ha! I'm not body-shaming anyone. Is it not reasonable for someone who holds a position of authority over the health of others to at least take some responsibility for her own? It's like having a bankrupt treasurer in charge of the national coffers.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Ha! I'm not body-shaming anyone. Is it not reasonable for someone who holds a position of authority over the health of others to at least take some responsibility for her own? It's like having a bankrupt treasurer in charge of the national coffers.

She doesn't look sick

2 ( +4 / -2 )

And they're not outlawing cigarette

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Education. smart persuasion.

Prohibition, been here, the overall outcome failed and ultimately encouraged the glamorization of organized crime.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Locking someone up because they were smoking? Aren't cigarettes valuable currency in prison?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Btw that health minister in pic does not look very healthy, extremely overweight.

You’ve never been to NZ have you?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

 Aren't cigarettes valuable currency in prison?

Butts are even more valuable

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ha! I'm not body-shaming anyone. Is it not reasonable for someone who holds a position of authority over the health of others to at least take some responsibility for her own? It's like having a bankrupt treasurer in charge of the national coffers.

The person in the photograph is Dr. Ayesha Verrall. She is an infectious disease specialist, she has three advanced degrees in the field including a PHD. Her medical research has been published in several leading peer reviewed medical journals. She has worked as a physician, and also as a senior lecturer at one of New Zealand's top medical schools.

But OH MY GOD, you are right she looks like she might be slightly overweight in that one photograph so we can safely ignore everything she has to say about healthcare and instead just talk about how much better qualified skinny people are to give medical advice because yes that makes sense.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Next move will be ban alcohol ?

I really don't care since nowadays smokers are foebidden to smoke nearby you, pay more after all than what they will cost to society and only adults knowing the medical risks will start smoking.

To feel bright, one could ban all dangerous attitudes (eating too much for instance or lack of activity) ? There are so many.

Life is risky.

Prevention is key, I do totally agree with itsonlyrockandroll's "smart persuasion".

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@MontyToday 07:35 am JST

I can not imagine that the smoking people belong to that we all.

This law is carefully crafted to ensure de facto "grandfathering in" anyone who is already a smoker. Now that their right to smoke is ensured, how many of them will object to other people not smoking?

@StrangerlandToday 07:51 am JST

Uh, IIlyas disputes your claim it has never succeed anywhere. Would you like to counter that? As COVID-19 has shown, people do have different values. It's not impossible the Orientals can get away with prohibitions that won't work in the West.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

ianToday  01:09 pm JST

Ha! I'm not body-shaming anyone. Is it not reasonable for someone who holds a position of authority over the health of others to at least take some responsibility for her own? It's like having a bankrupt treasurer in charge of the national coffers.

She doesn't look sick

Someone doesn't necessarily have to look sick on the outside to be unhealthy. But as in this case, unhealthily excess weight is hard to hide.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

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