TDB reviews the Smoked Tobacco Amendment Act

A useful report from TDP on the problems with the Smoked Tobacco Amendment Act. It is on behalf of tobacco companies, but that doesn’t mean the facts are wrong. They find:

• On current trends, New Zealand is projected to achieve the smokefree target of no more than 5% of adults smoking by 2026, even without the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022
• The Act is likely to increase illicit market activity and associated crime; increase unemployment and cause financial stress to retail store owners
• The costs imposed on New Zealanders from the Act that are considered quantifiable are estimated to total around $1.3 billion in present value terms over the next ten years.
• Other countries examined in the report where governments have attempted to control the use of tobacco or other addictive products by across-the-board supply-side controls have seen little or no reduction in consumption as users switched to illicit markets. Instead they have experienced increased illicit-market related crime, a loss of revenue to government and other perverse or negative outcomes.