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New Zealand scraps world-first smoking ‘generation ban’ to fund tax cuts (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Health experts say axing plan to block sales of tobacco products to next generation will cost thousands of lives

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I've always supported this approach too but I have to wonder... is there a point where it gets taxed so high that people will just go back to the black market? What would prevent anyone from going black (heh) if it's cheaper than the legal option?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

There's already plenty of black market ciggies in both NZ and AU. Just watch one of the border patrol shows and every second person they catch is a suitcase full of cigarettes.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

The black market in australia is huge. Almost everyone i see smoking at work or at pubs is smoking black market cigarettes or using illegal vapes. If they crack down on the black market i expect to see a large rise in robberies of shops selling cigarettes. The taxes have gone too far. This is also why they won't ban smoking. Billions in tax revenue.