Mrs. Loucas stated that "while New Zealand's laws and regulations are far from perfect, they still serve as a model for other countries striving to combat tobacco use. It is not a time to completely abandon them, rather than to distinguish between what works and what doesn't.
Her comments were made nearly two years after the implementation of the 2020 Smoke-Free Environment and Control Products (Vaping) Amendment Act on November 11th, 2020.
The objective of the bill is to strike a balance between ensuring that smokers have access to smoking products and ensuring that these products are not marketed to young people.
Ms. Loucas stated that despite various industry regulations continuing to be implemented throughout New Zealand, the regulations that immediately came into effect two years ago have had a positive impact.
Starting from November 11, 2020, the use of electronic cigarettes is prohibited in workplaces, schools, childcare and educational centers, among other locations. Additionally, the sale of electronic cigarette products to individuals under the age of 18 is prohibited, as well as all advertising and sponsorship related to electronic cigarette products.
Smornancy Lucas added, "If teenage smoking is a problem, then changing the law is not the solution, as it is already sufficient. The solution lies in the responsibility of parents and greater enforcement power of regulatory agencies. Severe sanctions can be imposed on those found selling to minors. Any rogue retailers now face consequences because they are making good legislation look bad.
The AVCA has stated that the Ministry of Health's e-cigarette fact website, which is titled "E-cigarettes not as harmful as smoking", is also a leading site in the world.
According to Loucas, "New Zealand has a good relationship with the public and is moving towards its goal of smoke-free by 2025, with 5% or fewer people smoking. In contrast, Australia's panic over retail bans on safer nicotine products and public funding has ensured that its smoking rates have remained almost unchanged in recent years.
To further limit the appeal and accessibility of deadly tobacco, the health committee of parliament will submit a report on amendments to regulations around smoke-free environments and controlled products (such as tobacco leaves) before December 1.
Ms. Lucas added that it is now time to crackdown on tobacco instead of re-prosecuting the smoking regulations and laws that have been debated and reviewed so intensely by parliament and health leaders.
Governments, politicians and officials from around the world are continuing to study New Zealand's efforts to halve the smoking rate and achieve smoke-free status. By advocating the THR method, New Zealand is demonstrating how to crush tobacco and save thousands of lives each year.
Statement:
This article is compiled from third-party information and is intended for industry exchange and learning only.
This article does not necessarily reflect the views of 2FIRSTS, and 2FIRSTS cannot confirm the truth or accuracy of the content. The compilation of this article is solely for industry communication and research purposes.
Due to limitations in our ability to translate, the translated article may not perfectly convey the original meaning. Please refer to the original text for accuracy.
2FIRSTS maintains complete alignment with the Chinese government on any domestic, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and foreign issues and stances.
The copyright of compiled information belongs to the original media and author. If there is any infringement, please contact us for deletion.
This document has been generated through artificial intelligence translation and is provided solely for the purposes of industry discourse and learning. Please note that the intellectual property rights of the content belong to the original media source or author. Owing to certain limitations in the translation process, there may be discrepancies between the translated text and the original content. We recommend referring to the original source for complete accuracy. In case of any inaccuracies, we invite you to reach out to us with corrections. If you believe any content has infringed upon your rights, please contact us immediately for its removal.
