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Maori tobacco control advocates are welcoming the Prime Minister’s announcement action on plain packaging for tobacco is back on the agenda.
John Key says the failure of tobacco giant Philip Morris’s legal challenge to Australia’s plain packaging law means the bill which is currently held up will be back before parliament sooner as opposed to later.
Zoe Hawke from the National Maori Tobacco Service says removing the branding around tobacco sales will help reduce smoking rates and bring New Zealand closer to the target of being smoke free by 2025.
Research shows young people feel more negatively about smoking if cigarettes come in plain packs, and they’re more likely to think about quitting.
Anthony Thompson, the manager of Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua’s stop smoking service, says there’s always an upsurge in people accessing the service when tobacco tax rates go up, and he expects the same with plain packaging.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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