According to this article New Zealand is banning completely Tobacco for the new generations. The people behind the decision claim it is for health reason. However the current policy adopted by the developed countries and also some developing countries is working, the number of smokers all over the world is decreasing, so why change it?

The approach taken by the legislators completely disregards the facts. Most of people started smoking in their teens even though selling and giving cigarettes to minors has been illegal for a long time in many countries and the same situation will be pushed to the extreme. About 8 years from now there will be a lot of of people in the age range between 18 and 22 who are being told that they are considered adults, but they are not allowed to smoke while all other people they see around are. How they will react seems quite obvious. So, we already can see that the assumption this policy is based on is just a slogan.

Furthermore the plan is to turn the ban on sales into a full prohibition in the long term, but prohibition often doesn't work, alcohol prohibition in the USA didn't last long and cannabis is another example of failed prohibition that is leading many countries to reconsider their policy.

It does not seem possible that the legislators in New Zealand didn't take these facts into account. The simplistic assumptions they made are too naive to be credible, the only real difference that we could see in the future is that young ones will have again the thrill of the forbidden thing.

This law is clearly designed to fail.

Considering all of this can peoples' health be really the reason for this law? What else could be the goal?