New Zealand recently announced that it intends to inhibit younger crowds from the ability of purchasing cigarettes as part of an act to make it entirely free of cigarette or tobacco products by the year 2025.
Taking these actions will mean that any individual who was born after 2008 will not be able to purchase any nicotine products while they are alive, whereas the nicotine levels in cigarettes that are accessible by older individuals will diminish.
Various health officials and campaign groups have openly ushered in this move, ascertaining that it might be one of the largest attempts to crack down on the tobacco industry, on a global level.
"This is a historic day for the health of our people," Dr. Ayesha Verrall, associate health minister, said in a statement. "We want to make sure young people never start smoking so we will make it an offense to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth. People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco."
New Zealand health officials have also reported that tobacco smoking is the cause of one out of every four cancers. It is additionally the primary cause of preventable death, and the industry has been heavily watched by legislators for over a decade now.
At this time, around 11.6% of New Zealand young people who are over age 15 choose to smoke. Since this is such an ongoing health concern for the country of New Zealand, these new sets of standards and restrictions have caused their retail tobacco industry to be one of the strictest across the globe.
The new restrictions will take place in intervals, starting from 2024, then having lesser nicotine requirements in 2025, and lastly, having a "smoke-free" population starting in 2027.
With New Zealand's new plans to outlaw smoking and other nicotine products entirely, it will likely create a great deal of havoc and controversy. But ultimately, it will benefit the greater well being of the population as a whole, given the harmful effects of tobacco products.