New Zealand: Smokers Turn to E-Cigarettes

Source from:  New Zealand Herald 01/08/2015

More people are turning to e-cigarettes after a 10 per cent tax hike on tobacco, a Bay retailer says.

Special T Discounters manager Alize Cornelius said although the price rise would not put off some smokers, others were exploring different options.

"More people are buying the electronic cigarettes," she said.

"I think a lot of people are going to try and give up."She said the price rise would have a big impact on those who refused to kick the habit.

"There's a lot of people who aren't going to give up.

"It's going to stop a lot more people feeding their kids."

Ms Cornelius said customers were now also buying cigarettes based on price rather than brand.

Special T Discounters shop assistant Caroline Paterson said there had been plenty of talk about the price rise in the store.

"People are not very happy with the Government. A lot of people are actually saying, 'why are they doing it with cigarettes? Why aren't they doing it with alcohol because there's more damage to other people while cigarettes are a personal thing'," she said.

Annmaree, a smoker who did not want to give her last name, said she has smoked for more than 20 years but was now determined to give up.

"I need to. It's too expensive," she said. "I know they want to try to make it smokefree by 2025 ... the way to do it is to put the price up."

The Welcome Bay resident had tried quitting after previous tax increases but was determined to break the habit this year.

"I paid $66 for 50g the other day. That's ridiculous. It'll be $100 soon," she said. "It's quite sad. There's going to be children who miss out because of it."

She was not going cold turkey but was slowly cutting down on the amount she smoked.

Quitline chief executive Paula Snowden said January was the organisation's busiest month.

"We know a price increase prompts hundreds of smokers to try to quit the addiction.

"We need to keep introducing them in a way that hits the tobacco industry in their back pocket.

"We welcome the Government's commitment to further tobacco tax increases in 2015 and 2016 and encourage it to impose even further increases over future years."

Tobacco tax

The latest tax increase, which came into force on January 1, has seen most tobacco products increase by about $4, making a pack of 20s about $20.

It is the third year in a row to start with a 10 per cent tax rise and another rise is due at the start of 2016. Enditem