The truth is out, as told by the new finance minister.
Labour has, as we know, been selling vapes almost like lollies, understating risks, making huge amounts of money, and with no nicotine or vape addiction programmes. The evidence for manipulation of vulnerable groups, age being the major factor, and collusion with the vape industry to make money from selling toxic addictive drugs was there. The sanitising excuse, that it was all to enable a switch from tobacco, couldn't justify all that.
The advertising and availability to children and the effect on them has been and is the worst component.
The attention of this petition will remain on vapes so the issue isn't overshadowed as the biggie of tobacco rears up, but the last 24 hours(see link below) confirms that the new government is happy to exploit tobacco addiction too, make vulnerable groups sick and poorer to get revenue, even when these same groups incur massive health costs and job loss as the effects keep kicking in.
Maybe Nicola Willis is just more honest, but, to backtrack on a tobacco regulation change to ensure a massive revenue for tax cuts etc is an extraordinary action, indicating either lack of imagination or of conscience.
Nicola has confessed to the Coalition being able to make about $1 billion from reversing the tobacco regulation amendment, i.e. maintaining sales of an addictive carcinogenic drug which deprives cells of oxygen (the carbon monoxide inhaled having over 200x more affinity than oxygen for hemoglobin) and which causes lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease and strokes. The money is mainly to enable tax cuts, which will primarily benefit the wealthy. The amendment reversal is also estimated to create $1.3 billion health costs, along with a lot of pain.
She states that the current availability of tobacco is limited, which is partly true, with high pricing contributing. What is particularly concerning, possibly more than dropping the amendment changes, is that for the Coalition to make this billion or so it requires people to keep being addicted to smoking tobacco and new smokers. Serious nicotine quitting programmes will not be on the agenda.
With a wide government push for such programmes, big media campaigns, counselling services in every community etc, even without backtracking on the tobacco amendment, this revenue stream would substantially drop.
Nicotine patches or gum or support for cold turkey, advice such as from the Cleveland clinic of options, what to expect, how to ride through the withdrawal period, the huge benefits from quitting etc.. This is what we need.
The government sums stink. There is a serious lack of concern about the health and long term economic viability of the nation.
Big tobacco/vape, Phillip Morris et al, win.
It is important for the public to know of all conflicts of interest, in addition to the government making money in the short term from each deal of a vape or pack of tobacco cigarettes. This includes which MPs are affiliated with or have shares in tobacco/vape companies, which companies donate to the parties, what access the lobbyists eg VIANZ have.
The victims here end up being all New Zealand, but especially those who get hooked, and much of their money will go offshore.
(As included in my letter to Shane Reti, neither cigarette or vape sales should be available online. This access undermines other controls.)
(Photo from Wikipedia.)