Phil Barry on the real cost of the coming crackdown on smokers

A radical set of new anti-smoking measures is set to bring New Zealand close to a de facto prohibition on smoking. But with the black market rearing its head, what is the real cost of this crackdown for taxpayers, businesses and the economy? A major new analysis of Ayesha Verrall's Smoked Tobacco Amendment outlines $1.3 billion in new costs, and argues the legislation is "largely, if not entirely, redundant". This week on Taxpayer Talk, Taxpayers' Union spokesman for lifestyle economics Lou...