Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand.
Read moreNew Zealand took a bold move to curb smoking and announced a ban on buying and purchasing cigarettes for anyone aged 14 or under for their lifetime.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand. Under the Smokefree 2025 plan, the government has pledged to reduce the number of shops selling or supplying tobacco products, especially in low-income communities. In addition, only smoked tobacco products containing very low nicotine levels can be sold.
The legislation is expected to be introduced next year and come into effect by 2023, giving time to retailers to transition to a new business model.
New Zealand is now the second country, just behind Bhutan, where cigarette sales are banned outright.
Source: CNN