New Zealand Bans Smoking for Next Generation: Who Is Allowed To Buy a Cigarette?

New Zealand is the first country to come up with such a law.

(Photo: iStock)

If you were born after 2008, you are banned from buying cigarettes or tobacco products in New Zealand, according to the new law passed by the country's parliament on Tuesday, 14 December.

It's big because...

• For starters, NZ is the first country to come up with such a law.

• Second, the number of people who will be able to buy tobacco will shrink every year in the country. For example, by 2050, even a 40-year-old will not be able to buy cigarettes unless the law is revoked.

The big number: According to government data, the smoking rate is already at an all-time low, with just 8 percent of adults smoking daily.

But the new legislation does not ban vape products, popular among Gen Z.

What they said: Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said that this law was a step "towards a smoke-free future."

"Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be NZ$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking," Dr Verrall said, reported BBC.

"It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas," Dr Verrall added.

What else: The law says that the designed number of retailers who will be able to sell tobacco products will reduce to 600 nationwide, from 6,000 right now. It has also proposed to reduce nicotine levels in products in order to make them less addictive.

(With inputs from BBC.)