To the People of New Zealand/Aotearoa and Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Honourable Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Honourable David Seymour, Honourable Minister of Finance Nicola Willis, and Honourable Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti,

As medical, public health, academic and human rights organisations from across the globe that work to end the devastating toll of smoking, we write to call on you to retain New Zealand’s world-leading smokefree law, The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act (SERPA) and the Smokefree Aotearoa Action Plan. These will likely prevent tens of thousands of New Zealanders from suffering the heartache of seeing their loved ones suffer and die prematurely from smoking. These policies will save lives.

We wholeheartedly agree with our colleagues and concerned citizens in New Zealand that repealing this Act would be both irresponsible and immoral. The marketing and sale of tobacco products – the only consumer products that addict and kill when used as intended – is a violation of the human right to health. Governments have an obligation to stop third parties such as tobacco companies from violating the rights of their citizens. We remind you that Māori leaders first proposed the smokefree goal and inspired the National-led government to commit to this goal in 2011.

The Hon. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has stated that the justification to repeal the Act is to maintain smoking rates in the short-term to keep tax revenue and fund tax cuts. This is unconscionable and wrong. The costs of preventing and treating tobacco-caused diseases in New Zealand far surpass tobacco tax revenue. In a nation with universal health care, everyone bears those costs.

If your government wishes to maximize revenue to fund tax cuts, SERPA implementation should be accelerated, not repealed. Ending the tobacco epidemic would be an historic win for wealth as well as health. Rescinding a law designed to protect New Zealanders’ health to enhance short-term tax revenues violates governments’ fundamental duty to protect its citizens’ lives and health and would make the government directly complicit with the tobacco industry in the 5,000 deaths per year from tobacco-related disease.

The argument that the legislation is paternalistic and violates freedom of choice does not survive scrutiny. Nicotine is an extraordinarily addictive substance. Tobacco companies have engineered cigarettes to make them even more addictive. Decades ago, a tobacco industry executive stated bluntly: “We are, then, in the business of selling nicotine, an addictive drug.” Simply put, addiction removes choice. Most adults who smoke became addicted as children. For them, there never was an “adult choice.” Like laws mandating seatbelts and helmets, or that restrict dangerous products such as lead and asbestos, SERPA does not violate personal freedom. It promotes individual and public safety.

Concerns that SERPA will increase illicit trade have no empirical or logical foundation, and come directly from tobacco industry propaganda. Education, enforcement, and strong support for people wanting to quit will effectively manage any illicit trade threat. Furthermore, rapid continued decreases in smoking prevalence are the best defence against illicit activity.

Repealing SERPA would disproportionately harm Māori peoples. It would also contravene international obligations New Zealand has signed, including human rights treaties such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which includes the obligation to promote health equity. New Zealand is also a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), ratified by 182 countries. The objective of the FCTC is to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. SERPA is a rare opportunity to lead a wave of momentous generational change.

Repealing SERPA will have only one winner – the tobacco industry – and will firmly establish an ethos of putting corporate profit over public health. The tobacco industry is not a legitimate stakeholder in public health conversations. Under the FCTC, New Zealand is obligated to keep the industry at arm’s length when establishing public policy. Its interests are incompatible with the public interest, a reality enshrined in the FCTC.

We strongly urge the New Zealand Government to put the health of New Zealanders, especially children, Māori and future generations above the wealth of tobacco companies. SERPA has made New Zealand a shining light and source of inspiration for countries battling to end the tobacco epidemic. Millions of people around the world who have lost loved ones to smoking stand with concerned New Zealanders. If adopted by other countries, the SERPA measures would likely save hundreds of millions of lives. Please let it remain so.

139 Signatory Organizations from 53 Countries

Individuals can share their support by signing this petition: Put our People over Profit – Stop the Repeal of the Smokefree Legislation created by Hāpai Te Hauora.

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