Annual tax hikes for tobacco products are being credited with reducing Northland's smoking rate, with another 10 per cent rise from January 1 expected to see a spike in demand for smokefree services.
The tax increases started in 2011 and a pack of 20 cigarettes now costs on average about $20, while a 30 gram pouch of tobacco is around $40. The annual 10 per cent tax hikes were imposed to help the Government reach its target of being smokefree - less than 5 per cent of the population smoking - by 2025.
Statistics from the 2013 Census show more than 19,986 people in Northland aged 15 or over - or 19.1 per cent - smoke regularly, down from 25.7 per cent who smoked in the 2006 Census. The tax hikes have been partly credited with the drop. If they quit, an average smoker will be saving well over $2000 a year. Up to 5000 New Zealanders, 600 of them Maori, die every year from tobacco-related causes. Tobacco is related to a quarter of all deaths in Northland.
Northland District Health Board, which runs smokefree services in the region, said giving up smoking is consistently at the top of the list for New Year's resolutions, and the looming price rise gives smokers another incentive to quit. Bridget Rowse, Northland DHB smokefree adviser, said smokers can beat the price increase and consider quitting this summer.
"We're encouraging everyone to make giving up smoking their resolution this New Year. It's a great opportunity to begin that journey to a smokefree life," Ms Rowse said.
