Future generations banned from ever being able to buy tobacco in New Zealand

Published

2 years ago

December 13, 2022

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New Zealand has passed one of the world’s toughest anti-smoking laws that will gradually ban more and more people from ever being able to buy tobacco.

It means anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 (currently those approaching their 14th birthday and younger) will never be able to buy it.

The minimum age for purchasing tobacco will therefore slowly increase as a result.

Theoretically, someone wanting to be cigarettes 50 years from now would need to prove they’re at least 63.

The law also slashes the number of shops that can sell tobacco from about 6,000 to 600 and cuts the amount of nicotine allowed in products.

However, authorities are hoping they can snuff out smoking much earlier and want to make the country smoke-free by 2025.

New Zealand has imposed big tax increases on tobacco in recent years in a bid to strangle the habit.

“There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,” associate health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall told MPs on Tuesday.

She said money would also be saved by not having to treat as many people with illnesses such as heart attacks, cancer, strokes and amputations.

Opponents of the law, such as the libertarian ACT party, said it was “nanny state prohibition” that would lead to a large black market.

It also argues that many small shops will go out of business as they lose the right to sell tobacco.

Vaping is not covered by the law and is already slightly more popular than smoking after rapid growth in recent years.

Around 8% of people in New Zealand smoke daily, according to statistics last month, compared with 8.3% who vape.

That’s a fall from 10 years ago, when 16% of people smoked tobacco, and is one of the lowest rates among OECD countries.

The latest UK rate is 13.3%, according to the ONS.

Rates in New Zealand are higher among the indigenous Maori community, with 20% of people saying they smoke.

The only country that will now have stricter smoking laws than New Zealand is the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which banned cigarette sales in 2010.

’12 people’ injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station – as woman arrested

Published

1 hour ago

May 23, 2025

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'12 people' injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station - as woman arrested

A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.

An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.

They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.

Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.

A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.

Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.

Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.

Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I lost my husband… I don’t want to lose her’

Published

4 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says 'I lost my husband... I don't want to lose her'

In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.

Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing

Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.

But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.

Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns

“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.

“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.

“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.

At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.

Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.

The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.

Children are the worst affected.

Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.

Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Lethal spiral

Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.

Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.

It’s a lethal spiral.

“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.

“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”

“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.

“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”

Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.

The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.

Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.

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Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

Published

5 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Police launch 'major operation' after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.

A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.

The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.

Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.

Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

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