By Rebecca Wright
A paper recommending significant hikes to the tax on cigarettes will go to Cabinet later this month which could see many Kiwis priced out of the habit.
Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says cessation campaigns have not worked, and it is time smokers were hit in the pocket.
Prime Minister John Key agrees it works, but whether his government adopts it is yet to be considered by Cabinet.
Ms Turia wants the Government to hike excise and sales tax on cigarettes and ban advertising at the point of purchase.
"If you raise the taxes and take the smokes off the shelves in the shops, that has a huge impact," she says.
Exactly how much the price hike will be has not been decided yet, but it will need to be significant.
It is a strategy that has the support of smokefree group Ash.
"Smokers in New Zealand tend to smoke the cheapest brands, and we've also got one of the highest rates of roll-your-own smokers," says Ben Youdam. "People smoke those because they're cheaper, so people are very, very sensitive to price."
Twenty percent of Kiwis still smoke - amongst Maori women that figure rises to almost 50 percent. That is despite millions of dollars being spent on smokefree campaigns; like raising the purchase age to 18, restricting marketing and advertising, public education campaigns, banning it in bars and adding health warnings to packets.
Ms Turia says they have not worked, and she is determined to use her influence to put a pack of cigarettes out of reach of most people.
Mr Key agrees it is an effective tool.
"Evidence shows that the fastest way to stop people smoking is through an increase in price, or the most effective way anyway. We'll need to think through all of those issues - we haven't done that yet and I don't want to prejudge any Cabinet discussion on the matter."
Ms Turia's recommendations will be presented to Cabinet in a paper later this month. If they are taken up by the Government, hefty price hikes and bans on advertising are likely to be announced in the May budget.
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