New Zealand set to scrap world-first tobacco ban
Set to take effect from July, the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world would have banned sales to those born after Jan. 1, 2009, cut nicotine content in smoked tobacco products and reduced the number of tobacco retailers by more than 90%.
Repeal flies in the face of robust research evidence, ignores measures strongly supported by Maori leaders, and will preserve health inequities, said Otago University researcher Janet Hoek. Pic: Reuters