New Zealand set to become smokefree by 2025
New Zealand law that forbids the sale of cigarettes to anybody born after January 1, 2009, has passed its third reading, marking one of the strongest crackdowns on the tobacco industry in the world. It represents yet another step toward the government's objective of having a smoke-free nation by 2025. The number of shops across the nation that are legally allowed to sell cigarettes will drop from 6,000 to 600, according to The Guardian. The legislation, which will take effect in 2023 as New Zealand works to become "smoke-free" by 2025, passed its final reading on Tuesday night. "Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives," Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said during the law's passage on Tuesday. "The health system will be $5 billion better off because we won't have to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and amputations." The Smokefree Environments and Regu...