Editor’s Note: For more information on New Zealand tobacco taxes being linked to increased violent crime and fraud, see here, here, here, and here.
From: KiwiBlog
A guest post by Carrick Graham:
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The annual excise increase, so eagerly awaited by tobacco control proponents, is fueling what seems to be a daily, if not weekly occurrence of aggravated robberies against dairies, convenience stores and service stations around the country. These robberies are often violent, and wreak havoc on these small retailers businesses.
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This then makes the call by tobacco giant Philip Morris to ‘tax its cigarettes more as a bid to move to a “smoke-free future”’ even more interesting. While this suggestion was made in the UK, there is no reason to believe it would not be supported by their company here in New Zealand.
