New Zealand Lawmakers Pass Generational Tobacco Ban.
- FEATURED
- December 13, 2022

Photo: sezerozger
Lawmakers in New Zealand passed legislation today that makes it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, reports the South China Morning Post.
“There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,” Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall told Parliament, adding that New Zealand’s healthcare system would save billions of dollars in the cost of treating sick smokers.
New Zealand’s pioneering law means that the minimum age for buying cigarettes will increase year after year. For example, somebody trying to buy a pack of cigarettes 50 years from now would need to proof they were at least 63 years old.