KEY POINTS:
Until smoking costs more than 25c a cigarette - or 2c a puff - the chance of reducing smoking this year was bleak, SmokeLess New Zealand chairman Murray Laugesen said yesterday.
He said the smoking of hand-rolled cigarettes probably killed 1800 people last year and, smoke for smoke, they were just as dangerous as factory-made cigarettes, which killed another 2700.
"Cigarettes eventually killed more than one in two smokers."
A recent Ministry of Health survey found hand-rolled cigarettes were the most popular cigarette for Maori, for men and for smokers under 40.
They cost smokers less than $4 day whereas factory-made cigarettes cost $8.
"With tobacco no longer grown, and mostly imported, New Zealand could plan for a law change to phase out cigarette sales within 10 years."
