I couldn't afford to smoke in NZ!

I have blogged about the differences I have found between NZ and the US many times. You can click on 'cultural differences' in my label cloud on the side to read them at your leisure. Sometimes, I'm torn between thinking the NZ government is good or bad with its decisions about health and the environment in general. But, I'm sure they mean well.

Before I moved to NZ, I smoked. Mostly just out of boredom, I think. There were no thoughts of 'You have to have a cigarette. Now. Go. Light up. NOW!' sort of thing. Sometimes, I would go for hours and hours until my brain would finally say, 'You've been reading that book for 4 hours. Get up and walk around. Yeah, having a cigarette might be an option. But go get a sandwich first'.

While we were conversing long distance, Hubby suggested that he would be happy if I didn't  smoke in NZ. No pressure. And, I realized it would be the perfect time to quit. Changing environments is always a good time to change habits, too.

So I had my last one before leaving for the airport on July 4, 2006. They cost $3 a pack. Never thought about them again until many days after I landed. And, now I'm glad that I was more than a bit afraid of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road--so I didn't get the chance to drive down to the gas  petrol station and pick up a pack. At that time, they were $12 for a generic pack of 25. Yes, I was certainly glad I quit.

And now I am even happier about my decision because the NZ government just passed a law to help smokers stop abusing themselves. They make no bones about the fact that the price of tobacco is going to 'skyrocket' to 'help' Kiwis stop smoking. I'm not sure of actual legal plans, since the reporting here is less than direct...but I digress..

The gist of the matter is that cigarettes will be taxed to death (no pun intended) over the next decade or so to put the price out of sight for smokers.

But it's all for their own good.

That's what 'they' say, anyway.