Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
Explore Primary Sources
How Students and Families Can Log In
1 min.
Setting Up Student View
Sharing Articles with Your Students
2 min.
Interactive Activities
4 min.
Sharing Videos with Students
Using Upfront with Educational Apps
5 min.
Join Our Facebook Group!
Exploring the Archives
Powerful Differentiation Tools
3 min.
World and U.S. Almanac & Atlas
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to The New York TImes Upfront magazine.
Article Options
Presentation View
A New Kind of Smoking Ban
Anton Watman/Shutterstock.com
New Zealand lawmakers are trying a creative way to keep people from smoking: Thanks to a new law, anyone born after 2008 will never be allowed to legally buy cigarettes in the country. Currently, those over 18 are still able to purchase tobacco, but the new restrictions will eventually raise the smoking age year by year until it applies to the whole population. Recently, New Zealand has been trying to reduce smoking, and so far, the measures seem to be working, as the national smoking rate for adults has halved in the past decade, according to government statistics. Although some people worry that this new ban will fuel a black market, others see the move as a step in the right direction. “This legislation accelerates progress towards a smoke-free future,” says Ayesha Verrall, the country’s associate health minister. “Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives.”