WILLINGTON: The increase is the second of four which will be repeated every year until 2020. The average packet of cigarettes will now cost around $30.
Roughly 15 per cent of New Zealanders are estimated to smoke daily.
Quitline is expecting the number of calls to double over the New Year period due to the price increase and people wanting to quit the habit part of their new year’s resolution. “We know tax increases get people’s attention and motivates them to want to quit. The biggest thing we can do is keep your quit attempt alive,” Quitline CEO Andrew Slater says.
