Editorial: Price hike to squeeze smokers into quitting

FILE

The old saying of money going up in smoke is about to ring even more true, thanks to the Government's Budget announcement that taxes on cigarettes are set to rise.

It means that by 2020, a pack of 20 cigarettes will increase to about $30 from the current $20 after the hefty increase comes into play.

Each year, on January 1, the tax will rise by 10 per cent, bringing in an extra $425 million.

For smokers, it is going to mean having to find extra cash when it comes to indulging in their habit. And the news came just ahead of World Smokefree Day, which falls tomorrow.

If you ask me, good on the Government for introducing the new tax.

The lofty goal was set to make New Zealand a smokefree country by 2025 - and this, in my view, is one way of helping to make it happen.

Sure, there will be many who wear the price increase while moaning about the Government taking away their simple pleasures.

But as Rotorua GP Dr Harry Pert said in Friday's Rotorua Daily Post, for many "the stick" effect of price increases is enough to start to make people question whether it's time to call it quits.

Dr Pert said there was evidence that for some people, the increasing cost was likely to be enough to send them looking for ways to quit.

Rotorua health professionals are well aware of the disparity a region like ours faces because of the higher smoking rates.

It affects so many of the health outcomes - from those of babies whose mums have smoked during pregnancy to the rate of hospital admissions and the impact of diseases like cancer.

If a price hike encourages just a handful of people to give up then it has to be a bonus.

It's now important to make sure those who are contemplating giving up have the resources available to them to help see them succeed.