Over 100 organisations are pleading with the Government to put people over the profit of tobacco companies and stop the repeal of smokefree laws.
The Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), with 104 allies in health, education, social services organisations and unions, said the Government's plan to abolish Smokefree legislation is "immoral and undemocratic" in an open letter published in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday.
"This letter shows the depth of shock and anger by those in the health community and beyond about the Government's willingness to repeal a law that will save thousands of lives - so they can give tax cuts to the well-off," Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn said.
Introduced by the Jacinda Ardern-led Government, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022 was designed to stop young people from smoking, introducing several new restrictions to be implemented in the coming years including banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.
However, in a shock move the new Government said it would repeal the laws in its first 100 days in office with deputy leader Nicola Willis telling Newshub Nation both ACT and New Zealand First were "insistent" on reversing the restrictions. The Government plans to use the tobacco tax revenue it will keep by repealing the legislative changes to fund tax cuts.
The new Government believes the smokefree laws would force tobacco onto the black market. The Government also said having limited stores selling tobacco products would create a massive target for criminals.
Signatories to the letter include organisations across the spectrum of health services and advocacy, unions representing thousands of workers, leading academic and research groups, major health NGOs, Māori/iwi community health providers and medical colleges.
The letter highlights the weight of evidence and expert opinion expects the law to bring about "rapid, massive and equitable declines in smoking rates and save thousands of lives".
"There is no way that the Smokefree 2025 goal - a goal set by the National-led coalition in 2011 - will be achieved without this ground-breaking legislation," it said.
HCA Smokefree Expert Advisory Group co-chair and expert in indigenous tobacco control Sue Taylor (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Kahungunu) said many Māori organisations had signed the letter to express their distress over the repeal.
"This will set us back; we will be left behind. This decision won't just create harm, it will be our stolen generation," Taylor said.
The letter calls out the Government’s "heartless and indefensible" attempts to justify the repeal and lashed out at the Government's "fearmongering" about the growth of the black market in tobacco and ram-raids.
"We think the most effective way to reduce trade in illicit tobacco and associated crime is to cut smoking prevalence to minimal levels - something this law will achieve in record time," the letter says.
The repeal has been unfairly sprung on the voting public and is undemocratic, the letter added.
It said none of the coalition parties actively campaigned on repealing our Smokefree laws.
National didn't campaign on the smokefree rollback. It was a line item in ACT's alternative budget and was only added to New Zealand First's manifesto one week before the election - after people had started voting.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/christopher-luxon-wants-to-reduce-smoking-despite-policy-rollback-but-won-t-commit-to-same-reduction-rate.html
The letter also highlights the previous position of Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and the National Party’s support for denicotisation and Reti's own experiences of the devastating effects of smoking on his own patients.
"Health Minister Dr Shane Reti will no doubt have treated people with lung cancers, heart attacks, gangrenous toes, and emphysema. He knows the statistics and the lived reality of the devastating impacts of tobacco, especially on Māori," it said.
Finally, the letter asks the Government to put people over the profit of tobacco companies.
"We, the undersigned organisations, strongly urge the Government to support the better health of New Zealanders, especially children and future generations, not the greater wealth of the tobacco companies."
Health Coalition Aotearoa is leading a campaign to save New Zealand's world-leading Smokefree law from repeal. Nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition to stop the repeal which will be handed over to Parliament on December 12.
