New Zealand hopes some tough new policies will help them become a nation of non-smokers by 2025.
The country’s health minister is considering drastically raising the cost of of a pack of cigarettes, eventually to the equivalent of $80 (CAD).
The plan would see the price increase in stages, with the first bump bringing the cost of a pack to approximately $50.
Prices would then increase by approximately 10 per cent a year until 2020.
The idea is based on several surveys and research that suggests raising the cost of cigarettes through taxation is the best way to encourage smokers to quit.
It has also been suggested that costly cigarettes can discourage young people from lighting up in the first place.
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