Historic bill to create 'smokefree generation' has first reading

Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall has given a graphic description of a former patient who "barely had any lungs left" from smoking, in an impassioned speech to introduce a bill to create a "smoke-free generation".

The Labour bill will mean anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, will never be able to purchase tobacco products, along with heavily restricting store numbers and dramatically reducing nicotine levels.

It has the backing of the vast majority of MPs with National, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori all pledging to support it at first reading, albeit with concerns largely around the bill's "effective prohibition" and black market implications.

The sole voice opposing it outright is the Act Party, with health spokeswoman Brooke Van Velden calling the legislation a "prohibition" as part of a "nanny state" that won't work and only fuel a black market.

Verrall, an experienced public health professional, said she had seen the consequences of smoking in her job "every day".

She spoke of "Judith", a smoker of 30 years with lung disease so bad she could not walk past the letterbox and with "blue lips".

"I could see her scarred lungs under the X-ray ... there were barely any of her lungs left after smoking at all."

Yet Judith continued smoking, Verral said, despite knowing it was killing her, taking from her pension, "robbing her of time with her grandchildren".

"She knew she should quit, but she couldn't."

The bill is part of a push to drop daily smoking rates to less than five per cent across all population groups by 2025. In 2019/20 the rate nationally sat at 13.4 per cent.

About 14 people die a day due to smoking, with Māori disproportionately impacted.

Verrall today hit back strongly at claims the bill was prohibition, saying there was no criminalisation of users - only those selling - and nicotine could still be purchased elsewhere including vaping, unlike other drugs.

Verrall said smoking impacts affected the population disproportionately. Pākehā usage was on track to hit 8 per cent by 2025, while for Māori it was 20 per cent.

Smoking made up "2.5 years of the eight-year gap in life expectancy" between Māori and Pākehā, Verrall said.

National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti said they supported the smoke-free targets and the bill to the committee stage, but they had some concerns.

Reti pointed to the Ministry of Health's regulatory impact statement, which said there was already a growing illicit market and the policy changes were "likely to exacerbate this".

"Customs will need more resource to enforce border control," the advice said.

There were also concerns about potential social harms of people unable to access their usual level of tobacco and nicotine: "Exacerbated anxiety, self-harm or violence to families, use of other drugs or alcohol, and resorting to the black market are all risks".

Reti said there were also concerns for dairy and small business owners with retail outlets being significantly reduced.

Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick said the party supported the bill but would work at the committee stage to ensure it was "evidence-based" and "harm reduction" policy.

"There are lots of really important conversations."

Swarbrick, who led an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to legalise cannabis ahead of the last election, said there were concerns the bill would effectively make tobacco "criminally prohibited", with health and black market implications.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said they would support the bill at first reading but also had concerns around the impacts of prohibition.

Advocates and health experts have previously hailed the legislation as "world-leading" and a significant step to reducing preventable death and disease and reducing health inequities in the next few years.

The Government aims to pass the bill by December, meaning all going to plan those aged 14 and under will never be able to purchase tobacco, essentially phasing out smoking for the entire population.

The new laws will also mean only smoked tobacco products containing very low-level nicotine will be able to be sold.

Verrall has said current measures to achieve the Smokefree 2025 goal of reducing smoking overall to five per cent of the population had not worked.

Price hikes have been credited with general falling smoking rates, with steady annual increases seeing a pack of 20 now costing at least $33.

Modelling showed smoking rates were projected to only reduce to 8.1 per cent by 2025 for non-Māori and 20 per cent for Māori.

The current smoking rate of New Zealand adults was 13.4 per cent in 2019/2020, which has decreased from 16.6 per cent in 2014/15 15 and from 18.2 per cent in 2011/12.

For Māori it was 31.4 per cent in 2019/20, which has decreased from 38.1 per cent in 2015/15, and 40.2 per cent in 2011/12.

Māori women are the worst affected, with lung cancer mortality four times that of non-Māori and among the highest rate in the world.

Verrall said the bill had a "favourable" bet by the Ministry of Justice over Bill of Rights implications. She said it would see $5 billion in savings on health expenditure.