Te Marae Ora - Tobacco Reporter https://tobaccoreporter.com Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:37:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 Cook Islands Looking to Raise Tobacco Taxes 30% https://tobaccoreporter.com/2025/07/01/cook-islands-looking-to-raise-tobacco-taxes-30/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cook-islands-looking-to-raise-tobacco-taxes-30 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:37:41 +0000 https://tobaccoreporter.com/?p=164472 If passed in Parliament, the tax hike would drive up the average price of a 20-pack of cigarettes from $16.40 to $21.68 by July 2027.

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]]> The Cook Islands Cabinet approved a 30% increase in tobacco taxes, aiming to “curb high smoking rates and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases across the country.” Backed by the Ministry of Health and Te Marae Ora, the island’s main healthcare provider, the new policy will raise tobacco taxes by NZ$125.50 ($76.56) per 1,000 cigarettes or per kilogram of tobacco each year for the next three years. Beginning in 2028, an additional 5% annual increase will be added.

If passed in Parliament, the tax hike would drive up the average price of a 20-pack of cigarettes from NZ$26.88 ($16.40) to NZ$35.54 ($21.68) by July 2027.

According to the 2022 STEPS health survey, 35.5% of Cook Islands adults aged 25–64 smoke, including 44% of men between the ages of 18 and 44.

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