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A packet of 20 cigarettes is going to cost about $11 after overwhelming support in parliament for a stiff tobacco tax increase which is being greeted with a chorus of praise from anti-smoking lobby groups.
A bill enacted under urgency on a vote of 118-4 has put in place a 10% increase in tobacco excise duty, which was effective at midnight. Two more 10% rises will follow in January and at the beginning of 2012.
When the two-year price hike cycle is complete, a packet of 20 cigarettes will cost about $14 and a 30 gram pouch of loose tobacco about $30.
Loose tobacco has been hit with a double whammy, an immediate increase of 14 percent to bring it into line with cigarettes as well as the 10% increases.
The government, which reaps about $1 billion a year from tobacco excise, can expect an estimated revenue increase of about $200 million.
Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia, a strong anti-smoking campaigner, brought the bill to Parliament and told MPs the debate was going to be about life and death.
"The ghastly reality is that cigarettes kill one in every two long-term smokers," she said.
"In basic terms one in five New Zealanders are regular smokers - exposure to smoking in the home and tobacco use itself results in a staggering figure of around 5000 deaths a year."
Labour, the Greens, the Maori Party, the Progressive Party and United Future backed the bill while Act split its vote. One of Act's MPs, John Boscawen, supported it and the other four opposed it.
One was Sir Roger Douglas, who said any benefits had to be weighed up against individual responsibility.
"The 'I know what's best for you' mentality is getting out of hand...our flight from individual responsibility never ends," he said.
And he challenged the government, if it believed a price increase was going to curb smoking, to do the job properly.
"Why not put it up by 600% - that would fix it."
National's Tau Henare, who identified himself as "parliament's only real smoker" supported the bill but said poor people were going to be hardest hit.
"If a packet of cigarettes goes up to $20 they're still going to buy them," he said.
"Most cessation programmes don't work."
Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton also backed the bill but accused the government of hypocrisy because it had rejected a Law Commission recommendation to increase the excise on alcohol.
"And 24 hours later it's agreed to keep the Maori Party happy and rush a bill through Parliament to increase the price of tobacco," he said.
"Well guess what? Increasing the price of alcohol would reduce the number of teenagers buying cheap alco-pops at the dairy too."
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentBlueEggCarton said on 2010-05-29 @ 21:08 NZDT: Report abusive post
My name is Becky and I am 13 yrs old.Like a lot of families in NZ my family is on the lower end of wage earners, on top of that my father is a smoker & has been for sometime.The new law has put great strain on us as a family as a lot of money already goes to purchasing cigaretes.It is not fair as even tho my father has tried to giv up numerous times b4 I can tell that he isnt going to happen in the near future. In the meantime we hav 2 sufer by not being able 2 aford various things financially!
ALSKI said on 2010-05-03 @ 11:08 NZDT: Report abusive post
So, it was the Maori Party that instigated this tobacco tax hike and the government rushed the legislation through under urgency to appease them because they need their vote to carry their own. The Maori Party was formed to improve the lot of Maori, a racist attitude but neverthless that is what they should stick to and if there is a problem with smoking and Maori health then they should address that only and butt out of imposing their crusades on the rest of us
jezebell said on 2010-05-01 @ 14:44 NZDT: Report abusive post
Sick and tired from hearing that smoking kills- What a lot of B.S.- diseases- as cancer kill, but not smoking. It is the same as saying that driving kills- you increase your chances of being in car crash by 80% when you drve a car, so- Driving kills!!!. And smoking increasing your chances of getting a cancer by what -30%? Did they forget to mention positive sides of smoking- of cause it is heresy!!! Let's start a witch hunt and burn smoking heretics at stake. Well done Great Inquisitors!!!!
leonie47 said on 2010-04-30 @ 10:30 NZDT: Report abusive post
Well i think its not fair on the people that have allready tryed to give up smoking and have not succeeded.they are on medication that prevents them from trying the pills that are out. So are really struggling with the habit.This is what im going through at the moment and im sure there are others out there like myself and this price increase is so unfair.
ALSKI said on 2010-04-30 @ 09:09 NZDT: Report abusive post
MOUTHGUARD if you thought i meant change to Labour, no way! Labour and National work hand in glove. Witness the buyback of the creamed off rail system.The taxpayer is now forking out again to upgrade the rolling stock and system ready for the next sell off to the "creamers" What's the betting that National will increase the alcohol tax "Due to overwhelming public concern about the unfairness of taxing tobacco to address health concerns and not applying the same to alcohol"