Government's Proposed Repeal of Smoke-Free Measures Faces Backlash

The New Zealand government is considering repealing new smoke-free measures that would save thousands of lives; a decision that has been widely criticised by health organisations.

Data from the New Zealand Health Survey revealed daily smoking rates decreased from 8.3% to 6.8% over the previous year.

However, this still equates to 284k individuals causing irreversible harm to themselves through smoking, which is an equivalent population to the cities of Wellington and Napier combined.

Smoking rates among Maori are twice non-Maori rates, indicating the measures were particularly important for Maori health.

The measures aimed to reduce retailers selling tobacco, reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and create a smoke-free generation.

New Zealand's goal of 5% smoking rates by 2025 will not be met without these additional measures.