Once a leader on tobacco regulation, NewZealand has fallen behind, write ASPIRE2025 co-directors, Richard Edwards and Janet Hoek in this opinion piece.
Standardised, or plain packaging of tobacco products is crucial for protecting our children and young people from the slick marketing of the tobacco industry. Unfortunately, despite the support of the Minister of Health and the Associate Minister of Health, the Standardised Packaging Bill is stalled in Parliament awaiting its second reading.
Delays in implementing standardised packaging are part of a wider malaise undermining the leadership in tobacco control New Zealand once showed. These delays bring into question New Zealand’s commitment to protecting the next generation from the scourge of tobacco addiction.
Read the full op-ed here.
For more information please contact:
Richard Edwards
University of Otago, Wellington
email richard.edwards@otago.ac.nz