Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia and the Anti-tobacco group, ASH, are pushing for an tax increase on tobacco.

New Zealand could soon be following Australia’s lead and setting a higher level of taxation around tobacco and tobacco products, like cigarettes. The proposed law change could possibly see the price of a pack of cigarettes double. In a general area this would bring the price of a pack of cigarettes to over $20 per packet.

Legislation around the selling of cigarettes has not seen any recent year changes, except for the banning of smoking indoors. The last legislative change to raise tobacco taxes occurred over a decade ago. Recent Government statements have given hint that large raises in taxes are on the horizon. Further, Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia has reportedly consulted with Prime Minister John Key about tax raises, and has made statements hinting that new taxes will be revealed in coming weeks, and an official Government presentation could occur in October.