ACT Social Development and Children spokesperson Karen Chhou, said that having only low nicotine cigarettes available on the market only pushes smokers to consume more and therefore spend more on their habit, also leading to an increase in poverty.
As part of the proposals put forward by the Kiwi government aiming to make New Zealand Smokefree by 2025, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill, limits the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes to 20 mg/mL and 50 mg/mL for freebase nicotine, whilst setting the local tobacco age limit at 18.
“New Zealand smokers will who can least afford it will spend more on their habit and in turn do harm to those around them if the Government mandates lower nicotine in tobacco,” she said. “We knew this Government was dim but trying to wean smokers off nicotine by making them smoke more tar takes the cake.”
Chhou highlighted that low income nationals will be hit the hardest. “And we know Labour won’t cut taxes, so they’ll be increasing the tax on nicotine by a factor of 20, hitting poorer New Zealanders hardest. As a former smoker I have to say I’m sick and tired of this Government trying to socially engineer us into changing our behaviour.”
Diane Caruana – VapingPost – 2021-09-23.
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