Aotearoa’s model for stubbing out cigarette use became world-renowned in 2022 when the Government passed legislation banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after January 2009.

However, some fear that progress has gone up in smoke after the coalition Government announced late last year it would repeal the smokefree laws.

The plan was labelled ‘completely backwards’ by some public health experts at the time, and in the months since more controversy has followed.

Today on The Front Page, Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coghlan joins us to unpack the new Government’s plan for a smokefree future and why it's been so contentious.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Katie Harris
Sound Engineer: Paddy Fox
Producer: Ethan Sills

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.