WELLINGTON (NEW ZEALAND), Dec. 9 (DPA /) –
New Zealand announced this Wednesday that it will prohibit those under 14 years of age from buying tobacco, a law that will have to be approved by Parliament before it becomes effective and that is part of the fight against smoke that the New Zealand country has been carrying out since the 2011.
“We want to make sure that young people never start smoking, so from now on it will be a crime to sell or supply tobacco-related products to young people under 14 years of age,” said the Deputy Minister of Health, Ayesha Verrall , which has described the measure as “historical”.
The New Zealand Ministry of Health has launched a campaign that seeks to create a smoke-free environment by 2025 and that promises to address the damage that smoking has caused to the people of New Zealand, which causes one in four deaths in the country and that it is more common in Maori, Pacific, and low-income communities.
“If the situation does not change, it will be decades until the smoking rate in the Maori community drops by five percent,” said Verrall, who also explained that “by preventing people from starting smoking and helping those who smoking to quit is to cover both ends of the spectrum. “
With this law, despite the fact that young people will only be able to buy tobacco with low doses of nicotine and few stores will be able to provide it.
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