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0New Zealand Scraps the World’s First Generational Smoking Ban. Here’s What to Know
新西兰废除全球首个“世代无烟”法案，来一探究竟
New Zealand has scrapped the world’s first generational smoking ban, a year after the country passed the legislation.
新西兰在通过立法一年后废除了全球首个“世代无烟”法案
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who was sworn in on Monday, announced his decision to repeal the tobacco restrictions before they ever came into effect, saying his top priority was to improve the economy and curb inflation.
周一宣誓就职的总理克里斯托弗·卢克森宣布决定在烟草限制生效之前废除该禁令，并表示他的首要任务是改善经济和抑制通货膨胀。
The restrictions introduced in 2022 would have prevented people born after 2008 from legally purchasing cigarettes. Other aspects of the proposal included a reduction in the legal amount of nicotine contained in tobacco products, and a dramatic reduction in stores approved to sell such products from 6,000 to 600.
2022 年推出的禁令将阻止 2008 年后出生的人合法购买香烟。该提案还包括减少烟草产品中尼古丁的法定含量，以及将获准销售此类产品的商店从 6000 家大幅减少到 600 家。
Luxon stated the original ban would have created "an opportunity for a black market to emerge, which would be largely untaxed." He later told Radio New Zealand that “concentrating the distribution of cigarettes in one store in one small town is going to be a massive magnet for crime.”
卢克森表示，该禁令将创造“为黑市出现创造机会，而黑市大都是免税的”。他后来告诉新西兰广播电台，“香烟分销过度集中将严重滋生犯罪。”
Critics and health ministers have called the plan a win for the tobacco industry. The ban was designed to prevent smoking-related deaths, the leading cause of avoidable deaths in New Zealand. The ban was estimated to save up to 5,000 lives annually, particularly among the nation’s Indigenous Māori community who record high daily smoking rates of 19.9%. It would also have saved the country’s healthcare system $1.3 billion over the next 20 years, according to recent modeling.
批评者和卫生部长们称该计划是烟草业的胜利。该禁令旨在防止与吸烟有关的死亡，而吸烟是新西兰可避免死亡的主要原因。据估计，这项禁令每年可挽救多达 5000人的生命，特别是土著毛利人的生命，他们的日吸烟率高达 19.9%。根据最近的模型推演，它还将在未来 20 年内为新西兰医疗保健系统节省 13 亿美元。
The anti-smoking group Health Coalition Aotearoa has expressed disappointment in the new coalition’s plans to repeal the smoking ban. “This is a major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry—whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives,” Professor Lisa Te Morenga, the chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa, said in a statement.
反吸烟组织新西兰健康联盟对新联合政府废除吸烟禁令的计划表示失望。主席丽莎·特·莫伦加教授在一份声明中表示：“这对公众健康来说是重大损失，对烟草业来说却是巨大胜利——烟草业的利润将以牺牲新西兰人的生命为代价。”
“Turning the tide on harmful products that are entrenched in society cannot be done by individuals, or even communities. It takes good—and brave—population-level policies,” Te Morenga’s statement added.
烟草这种有害的产品已经在社会中根深蒂固，改变这一现状靠个体甚至社区都是无法完成的，这需要在整个人口层面推出良善、大胆的政策，特·莫伦加教授的声明补充道。
The generation ban was lauded as a global first during its announcement, and provided a blueprint for the U.K. government’s own efforts to phase out smoking by 2024. In October, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced legislation that would criminalize the sale of tobacco products to people born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister confirmed that Sunak’s position on the ban remains unchanged by New Zealand’s U-turn.
在宣布之初，该项世代禁烟令被誉为全球首例，并为英国政府到 2024 年前逐步禁烟的工作提供了蓝图。10月，首相里希·苏纳克宣布立法，将向2003年1月1日后出生的人销售烟草产品定为刑事犯罪。首相发言人证实，尽管新西兰在禁烟令上“急调头”，苏纳克在英国禁烟令上的立场不改变。
“We are committed to that,” the spokeswoman said. "This is an important long-term decision and step to deliver a smoke-free generation which remains critically important."
“我们致力于英国禁烟”，发言人表示。“这是一个重要的长期性决定和行动，旨在实现无烟一代，这一点仍然至关重要。”
As such, the U.K. will default to being the first country to implement a generational smoking ban.
因此，英国将自动成为第一个实施世代禁烟令的国家。
