Key: no decision yet on raising cigarette prices

I think it's a good idea to put the price of cigarettes up. That way, people can decide for themselves if they want to continue wasting thousands of dollars year after year or STOP altogether! Also, it means the ones who can afford to keep smoking will keep buying therefore still making the govt money. I personally want to stop smoking and I'm thinking that if the price of smokes goes up, it'll help me make that decision.
If the govt bans smoking, everything else will go up in price but I don't think it would go up so much that people can't keep living. I'd personally have an extra $55 a week to go towards something else plus saving my health at the same time.

Anyway, that's just my thoughts.

Cheers

this is stupid if people cant smoke tobacco there going to start smoking MARIJUANA its stupid john key is pathetic

Baker, you sound very much like a reformed smoker or an anti smoking lobbiest and not an actual smoker.

You dont damage the health of your kids if you do it away from them, outside for example.. if you are damaging your kids health its out of your own stupidity, most smokers are so PC that we generally only smoke around other smokers or find discrete corners as the shunned ones that we are.

The government collected 1.5 billion dollars in smoking taxation last year.

1.2 Billion dollars in Alcohol taxation.

The american system which has close to 400 million people published a cost analysis.

100 Billion dollars per year is what it cost the american system to look after smokers.

As america has a population 100 times greater than ours you would estimate that it cost the New Zealand government the equivelent of 1 Billion dollars per year.

ASH says it costs the New Zealand tax payer 1.5 billion dollars per year... they have always been a little extremist I would say half way in the middle at about 1.25 Billion dollars.

Which means the government is actually making money, and if you force smokers to give up, just where do you think the government is going to go looking for that extra money that they had coming in but now dont?.

Perhaps drinkers are to follow, its just as nasty and has just as many ill effects on the health budget as smoking, then again too much caffiene is bad too.

Smokers on average die 10 years earlier than non smokers so non smokers utilise the health system for 10 years longer than smokers actually do.

This is just about the National Parties drive for revenue, the Maori party foolish follow for their own reasons, but National isnt likely to ban smoking, because doing so would mean a greater push for revenue in other areas.

John Key has shown with this that he is just completely full of it... what survey of smokers? where are the results? I know I wasnt polled or any of the many people I know that smoke cigarettes.

I Agree with Baker BAN cigarettes. im A smoker nd putng the price up wnt do much thatz just more money down the drain.Actualy Alcohol KILLS more people than smokers do. If you compare alcohol to cigarettes DEATHS together ALCOHOL will win so yea if the cabint is SMART they will BAN cigarettes In NEWZEALAND.And focuse more on the DRUNKS. BECAUSE THE YOUNG ONES DO LOOK AT USE AS ROLE MODEL. they do what we do right. and if you put alcohol up thats still money down the drains(and it will be hader to get totally pissed) .SO DO THE RIGHT THING JOHN KEY (wish he could read these)

John Key is just a money hungry piece of S**t he is trying to make him self look good for the public trying to promote smokers to quit infact that will not happen because the govt will lose 1 billion per year and why would they risk that when they need people to smoke, i feel its just a threat to increase the short term sales to make a quick buck, politions are always up to no good and national partys love to spend money on nothing to help homeland, unlike labour they put NZ people first and help outsiders whenever they can spare the help, They waste so much money talking about stupid stuff for years its just rediculas,(excuse my spelling) putting prices up on smokes will increase the crime rate by far its just ludercris to do such a thing, so Mr Key do the right thing and dont increase by a large amount like that or go suck a fat one and expect chaos!

Yeah, because banning things makes them impossible to get, which is why no one in NZ smokes marijuana.

Smokes go hand in hand with alcohol. Both are poisonous. I can see a few people on here a cracking a hissy fit about the price of smokes going up. I'm a chain smoker and I wish the Government would ban cigerette sales, increasing the price will only mean that I have to pay more for a packet of smokes however if they are banned, no one can buy them and we will have a healthier country with healthier people.

All you smokers who oppose the price increase of smokes and who also oppose banning smokes, screw you selfish people. Our young ones watch us smoke everyday, they look up to us as role models, and when they see their role models smoking, they think it's ok to smoke and a lot of them start smoking because the people they look up to smoke.

BAN THE SALE OF CIGERETTES IN NZ AND SCREW THE SELFISH PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE

I agree with Rose and Tarsha. Raising the price of tobacco is NOT going to make us stop smoking. It is a choice that we make to smoke. Why not raise the price on alcohol as well? Alcohol is more dangerous to society. You see more alcohol related incidents in the news than smoking related illnesses. The amount of times they have increased the price of cigarettes in hopes that it would 'make people want to quit' and it hasn't worked! If all the smokers in new zealand were to quit smoking, the government would lose billions of dollars a year in tax. Is that what you want? The price of everything else would have to go up to cover your losses, and then EVERYONE will be suffering. Then how would you sleep at night?

20% of the adult population smoke, well over 80% drink alcohol. The government would rather make money taxing whichever commodity infringes upon fewer peoples rights.

It is not about choices it is about health and the cost to everyone to allow people to make the choice to destroy themselves. Now you have a choice, pay more for your future health bills. I bet none of you rabbid smokers would want your kids to start, so maybe this will stop them. Alcohol is just another side issue. Keep to the issue.