Taxes raise prices, and higher prices reduce smoking. But duty-free tobacco sales remain a policy anomaly and deny the government much-needed health revenue.
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Young people should be protected from taking up vaping but policies must be proportionate and reduce the appeal and addictiveness of both tobacco and vaping products.
The coalition has made good on pledges to repeal, reduce or reverse the previous government’s policies. But the real test will be paying for its own policies and staying stable in the process.
If the government is serious about reducing the cost of smoking, it should stick with Labour’s smokefree legislation rather than freezing the price of smoked tobacco products.
Research shows many smokers regret starting the habit. So why are we repealing the law that would have made smoked tobacco products less addictive?
Modelling studies estimate the smokefree generation policy could halve smoking prevalence within 14 years among people aged 45 and younger and achieve a more than a five-fold health gain for Māori.
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Professor in Public Health, University of Otago
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Professor of Public Health, University of Otago
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Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Otago
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Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Business Economics, University of Bath
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Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Marketing, University of Otago
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Associate Professor in Public Health, University of Otago
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Professor of Politics, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University