In 2021 New Zealand will become the first country in the world to ban the sale of cigarettes. According to the original plan, cigarettes can no longer be sold to New Zealanders born after 2008. This drastic step was taken to directly eradicate the habit of smoking in their country. Malaysia then wants to do the same for those born after 2005 through the GEG initiative which has yet to be approved.
But the SmokeFree Bill which was passed in 2022 and was supposed to come into force in July 2024 has now been canceled by the New Zealand government. This is because the reduced tax collection of $1 billion per year from tobacco products cannot be borne by the government.
This bill also received opposition from retail store traders who said the subsidy given by the government was not enough to cover the reduction in sales. Under the original plan, the number of shops that could sell cigarettes would be reduced to just 600 compared to the previous 6,000.
This action of the New Zealand government received a negative reaction from various government agencies and NGOs who saw it as subservient to the lobby of tobacco sellers. New Zealand should be a model country to see if this measure will be able to eliminate the practice of smoking and solve the issue of preventable deaths.
It is hoped that this step of New Zealand will not be followed by Malaysia in the future because like in the country of Lord of The Rings, smoking is also the main cause of death that can be avoided.