New Zealand’s plans for world-leading revolutionary anti-smoking laws will be withdrawn, Christopher Luxon confirmed on Monday after being sworn in as prime minister, in a move described as a “huge win for the tobacco industry”.
The former CEO of airline Air New Zealand took office six weeks after his National Party (Conservative) won the national election, ending a six-year cycle in which the Labor Party was in power.
Luxon, 53, said he will prioritize controlling inflation and lowering interest rates, and also said he will abolish the so-called “generative smoking ban” passed last year and banning the sale of tobacco to everyone those born after 2008 will be abolished.
The new head of government said that tax revenue from continued cigarette sales would be welcome to the government and also expressed concern about the eventual creation of a thriving, untaxed black tobacco market if the ban continued.
The measure was criticized by anti-tobacco groups as a setback for the country.
“This is a huge loss for public health and a huge win for the tobacco industry, whose profits will rise at the cost of Kiwi lives”the Aotearoa Health Coalition – the Maori name for New Zealand – said in a statement.
The anti-tobacco legislation, which is expected to come into effect later this year, is intended to reduce the number of people consuming tobacco products almost immediately.
Although the number of adults who smoke in New Zealand is relatively low at just 8%, the previous government envisioned a future where the country would be completely smoke-free.
In addition to the steady increase in the age limit, the new law would have reduced the number of shops authorized to sell tobacco products to a maximum of just 600 nationwide, a huge drop from the current figure of 6,000.
Originally unveiled by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (2017-2020), and praised by public health experts and anti-smoking advocates, a near-identical set of measures was recently announced in the UK.
Yet Luxon focused his statements this Monday on the need to revive the economy. “We need to lower the cost of living and control inflation so we can lower interest rates and make food more affordable.”he claimed.
The Prime Minister said his new government will also focus in the first months on restoring law and order and improving public services.
The former Labor government struggled to control the rising cost of living, a global problem partly due to supply issues related to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The previous prime minister, Labor leader Chris Hipkins, replaced Ardern in January, who resigned unexpectedly, ending her five-year term because she did not have enough energy for another four years.
Luxon said his cabinet will meet in the next two days to determine plans for the first 100 days of his term.
The National Party has also said it wants to tackle crime, ban mobile phones in schools and scrap planned fuel tax increases. “Much of our focus is on tackling the root cause of inflation,” he said.
“This means a number of things to ensure that we generate savings from public services and that government spending is sensible”he added.
Luxon became the country’s 42nd prime minister after lengthy coalition talks that led to an agreement on Friday.
His National Party formed a three-party coalition with the conservative ACT and populist New Zealand First governing the 123-seat parliament.
For the first time in New Zealand, the role of Deputy Prime Minister will be divided into two 18-month terms.
New Zealand’s first leader, Winston Peters, 78, was sworn in as deputy prime minister along with Luxon, but will hand over the role at the end of May 2025. Peters will be replaced by ACT leader David Seymour for the remainder of the three years. legislature.
Luxon, a father of two, is a wealthy teetotaler and country music enthusiast. He rose to prominence when he headed the national airline for seven years before entering politics.
Source: DN
