New Zealand anti-smoking groups want to see the world become smoke free by 2040. Delegates from our National Tobacco Control Working Group are heading to Singapore next week to submit a proposal to the World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
The New Zealand delegation wants tobacco removed from trade agreements, and treated the same as the likes of arms, ammunition and asbestos.
According to them being smoke free would mean less than 5 per cent of the world's population being smokers. Executive Director of the Smokefree Coalition Dr Prudence Stone concedes it's a very hard task. She says the key will being aggressive with big tobacco companies, who'll definitely be aggressive about preventing change.
She said that New Zealand already has a goal to be smoke free by 2025. She says delegates will attend next week's world conference in Singapore to show what local action has achieved and to set an example for other nations to follow.
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