Mixed reaction over cigarette prices

There are mixed feelings on the streets over the Government's latest tactic to lower the number of people addicted to cigarette smoking. Last weekParliament voted unanimously in favour of the third reading of a bill that will lift the price of smokes past $20 a pack over the next four years had its third reading in Parliament. Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia welcomed the move. "The tobacco excise increase will save lives.

They send a strong signal that smoking just isn't worth it." The new legislation will raise tobacco tax by a series of cumulative 10 per cent increases on January 1 in each of the next four years. This is expected to lift the average price of a packet of cigarettes to more than $20 by 2016. "I know this will hit smokers in the pocket, but I am not prepared to sit back while another generation becomes addicted to smoking," Ms Turia says. "We know that tobacco excise is the most powerful tool we have to stop children taking up smoking and encouraging smokers to quit."

Support service Quitline is expecting an increased demand on its services following the law changes, chief executive Paula Snowden says. "Quitline knows that tax increases are a big trigger to make people act on what they already know they need to do - quit smoking." For the year May 2009 to May 2010 the helpline had an increase of around 2000 callers, over two thirds of those people cited price increases as a reason for quitting. Ex-smoker Tony Ngaamo thinks the changes will lower the rates of smokers, but it will cause ill feeling.

"I sort of agree with it, but then I think it is a person's right if they want to smoke," the Mt Eden resident says. Mr Ngaamo quit smoking in 1980, and has seen many of his friends stub-out in recent years. "The restrictions of smoking in certain areas has had an affect. Lots of smokers I know have quit because of changes that have already been made." But smoker Vikas Gaur doesn't think the price increase will put him off.

"I don't think I can reduce the amount I smoke," he says. "Addicts feel that cigarettes are a necessity." Mrs Turia hopes smokers will take the opportunity to contact services like Quitline before the next wave of price rises hits next year. "Smoking continues to be by far New Zealand's single leading cause of avoidable death and disease," she says.