suggests a ban on the sale of tobacco cigarettes to persons born after 2009 in the future
Currently, these persons are or will be 14 years old this year, so they cannot legally purchase tobacco products, so in effect the restriction would come into force after four years, when these persons reach the age of majority.
Petravičas offered to follow “the example of New Zealand”, where not long ago a legal norm was approved, which provides for reducing the availability of classic cigarettes by prohibiting the purchase of smoking tobacco products for persons born after 2008. The politician believes that such a radical step will completely eradicate the harmful use of cigarettes among future generations and will reduce the risks of oncological and other diseases in the future.
“It has been proven in the world that classic cigarettes can kill both the user and others who have become passive smokers against their will. (…) We have to be brave to make radical decisions – to prevent future generations from starting to smoke classic cigarettes at all and being addicted of them,” said Petraviča.
She refers to the data of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control that in 2022, 72% of the population between the ages of 18 and 75 smoked tobacco cigarettes with varying regularity.
Latvia has one of the highest proportions of daily smokers among European countries. In 2020, the highest proportion of smokers of traditional tobacco products in the population over 15 years old was in Greece (42%), Bulgaria (38%), Hungary (36%) and Latvia (32%).
