New Zealand Bans Smoking For Future Generation. Why Such Laws Are Necessary

"Why am I doing this?" and "I am perfectly alright. Why can't I do this?" This is the dilemma that most people who are addicted to intoxicants face. On the one hand, they want to quit, but on the other hand, they don't find a strong enough reason to quit. Since I quit smoking, I understood the reason behind this dilemma. The lack of awareness about the harmful impacts of smoking and enforcement on quitting smoking.

Recently, New Zealand's government announced the first law on banning smoking. According to the law, the future generation born after 2008, will not be allowed to smoke. New Zealand's Health Minister, Ayesha Verrall, announced this bill and said it is a step "towards a smoke-free future". She added, "Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives, and the health system will be NZ$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking."

New Zealand Bans Smoking For Future Generation

Moreover, India too has taken a step towards stopping smoking. According to the law, the sale of single or loose cigarettes will be banned by Parliament to reduce tobacco consumption. In addition, the Indian government has further restricted the sale of tobacco by adding GST to it. According to recent tax laws, the government has imposed 53 per cent GST on cigarettes, 22 per cent on bidis and more than 60 per cent on smokeless tobacco.

Cigarettes kill about 1 million people every day. In the twentieth century itself, 100 billion people died due to smoking. But if we try to change the situation by banning smoking, we can have a smoke-free world by 2100.

Many criticise the idea of banning smoking altogether. Some say it is a way to curb freedom and some say it might increase the smuggling of cigarettes. The former argument has been explained above. Consuming cigarettes is not an expression of freedom but a prison of bad habits.

According to an NCBI report, smoking is not a recreational drug. Abolishing smoking will enlarge human liberty rather than restrict it. "As an influential Canadian tobacco executive once confessed: smoking is not like drinking, it is rather like being an alcoholic," quotes the report. Surveys have shown that many people who smoke want to quit smoking but can't. They even regret having started it. People who enjoy smoking are very rare. So it is said that smoking restricts people's freedom because they can't do what they want. And if they quit smoking, they get relieved of an impulsive habit. But as said before, it is not easy to quit smoking, and it requires a lot of dedication and hard work, especially for those who are badly addicted to it.

And as far as smuggling is concerned, it happens even when cigarettes are being sold. In 2022, Indian Customs seized 37 lakhs of cigarettes, of which 7,10,000 cigarettes were worth one crore. Almost everyday smuggling cases of cigarettes are coming across. But Indian Customs is implementing strict measures to stop these unlawful activities.

So the only solution, I think, is legal enforcement. If there is a ban on selling cigarettes, it will be easier for addicts to get rid of smoking. Today, as the awareness towards the impacts of smoking is increasing, many countries are trying to make their nations smoke-free.

Even if cigarettes are not banned totally, they must be banned in public spaces. The reason is the number of people being affected by passive smoking, and passive or second-hand smoking causes at least 34,000 premature deaths due to heart disease in the US.

So it is time for us to be more aware of the harmful impacts of smoking on people and the environment. One poisonous blow into the air can cost the lives of thousands. So can we not stop that? Is that blow too important than our and our family member's health? Remember, by smoking, you are harming not only yourself but those around you too. Let's quit smoking and care for people and the environment.

Views expressed are the author's own.