Cigarette price rise sees students grow their own
Today is World Smokefree Day and to mark the occasion, Wintec journalism students scoured smokers’ favourite haunts – off campus – to ask whether price rises announced in last week’s Budget would force them to kick the habit.
Students are growing their own tobacco in the face of cigarette price hikes.
Today is World Smokefree Day and to mark the occasion, Wintec journalism students scoured smokers’ favourite haunts – off campus – to ask whether price rises announced in last week’s Budget would force them to kick the habit.
Chris McKenzie, 27, said he expected a greater number of people would go “underground” and grow their own tobacco once the new price increases came into force early next year.
“There are already students in our classes who [grow their own].”
He also thought that if the government was going to raise the price of tobacco, then it should also raise the price of alcohol because more people drank alcohol than smoked cigarettes.
She prefers roll-your-owns because of affordability.
“I probably won’t stop, but when the prices go up I’ll try. Heaps of people will probably give up.”
Kyle Sehnert, 20, a returning Psychology student, was also unaware of ‘Smokefree Day’. He believed the latest price increase would mean more smokers quit.
“It is both inconvenient and understandable,” he said.
Corrina Walters, 24, is a Te Whiuwhiu student and has been smoking for ten years. She also smokes roll-your-owns because it is all she can afford. She believed the price increases meant people would have to rework their budgets.
“In my opinion ‘Smokefree Day’ is just another day for the world to stigmatise and be prejudiced towards smokers,” she said. “I think more people will turn to crime so they can get the money to afford it.” She had no plans to give up even if the prices rose further.
Liza Kire, 26, a Wintec Journalism student, believed that she was being punished because of a personal choice.
“It is really annoying because I feel like I can no longer support my habit and the price increase will be the only reason I quit,” she said. “If we have a smoke free day why can we not have a national alcohol free days as well?”
How do you feel about the price rise? Vote in our poll.