Smokers need to be given more options if New Zealand is serious about reducing the rate of smoking, an expert says.
A tax increase of nearly 15% will mean a packet of cigarettes will cost at least $15 from New Year's Day but smoking researcher Murray Laugesen says while price hikes are effective they don't address a key piece of the puzzle.
"We have to think how to do it in a more humane way," Laugesen told TV ONE's Breakfast this morning.
He said data shows price hikes help people quit but the real problem is the nicotine.
"As the price goes up I see some pretty miserable sights."
While Laugesen supports price hikes year by year into the future, he wants to see nicotine taxed rather than the cigarette.
"This would help greatly in helping smokers do what they need to do, which we all know is to quit."
While the smoke does the damage to the human body, no one would keep smoking cigarettes if there was hardly any nicotine in them, Laugesen said.
"We should create a new class of very low nicotine cigarettes by tax exempting them...this way people would smoke fewer of the high nicotine cigarettes.
"We need to separate the smoke from the nicotine."
The health system gives people nicotine without the smoke and e-cigarettes gives them the experience without the smoke, Laugesen said.
"We just need to free up the options for smokers."
What do you think? Have your say on our messageboard
Latest NZ News Video
-
Kiwi speaks to TVNZ7 from Everest base camp (1:59)
-
Immigration advisor Bill Milnes discusses claims (4:34)
-
Dance to save Shakti service (0:41)
