NEWS RELEASE
from Regional Public Health
23rd July 2008
Lower Hutt Tobacco ‘Sting’ Results Poor
Four out of eight tobacco retailers visited recently in the Petone, Wainuiomata and central areas of Lower Hutt sold
cigarettes to a 15-year-old secondary school student.
This contrasts with one sale out of 25 retailers visited by the same 15-year-old in areas of Wellington a few weeks
earlier.
The ‘stings’ involved staff from Regional Public Health and the Ministry of Health.
Pam Smith, Smokefree Officer, Regional Public Health, says the Lower Hutt results are poor and more needs to be done to
control tobacco, a highly-addictive toxic substance that will kill half of the people that use it.
The owners of the retail premises concerned as well as the person who sold the cigarettes to the 15-year-old, face legal
action by the Ministry of Health. They can be fined up to $2000 for committing the offence.
Tobacco ‘stings’ or controlled purchase operations such as these are held to ascertain the level of compliance by
tobacco retailers with New Zealand’s Smoke-free Environments Act requirement that no tobacco products are sold to a
person younger than 18 years.
Similar ‘stings’ are run at different times throughout New Zealand. They are one method of checking whether retailers
have procedures in place and adequately train all their staff in these procedures to ensure that this requirement of the
legislation is met.
ENDS