Wellington, New Zealand: On Tuesday, New Zealand passed legislation to phase out tobacco smoking by prohibiting young people from purchasing cigarettes for the rest of their lives.

Tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, according to the law.

It means that the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes will continue to rise. In theory, someone trying to buy a pack of cigarettes in 50 years would need to show ID proving they were at least 63 years old.

However, health officials hope that smoking will be phased out much sooner. They have stated that they want New Zealand to be smoke-free by 2025.

The new law also reduces the number of retailers permitted to sell tobacco from approximately 6,000 to 600, as well as the amount of nicotine permitted in smoked tobacco.

"There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people who use it," Dr. Ayesha Verrall, Associate Minister of Health, told lawmakers in Parliament. "And I can assure you that we will put an end to this as soon as we pass this legislation."

She said the health system would save billions of dollars by not needing to treat illnesses caused by smoking, such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and amputations. She said the bill would create generational change and leave a legacy of better health for youth.

Lawmakers voted along party lines in passing the legislation, 76 to 43.

The libertarian ACT party, which opposed the bill, said many small corner stores, known in New Zealand as dairies, would go out of business because they would no longer be able to sell cigarettes.

“We stand opposed to this bill because it’s a bad bill and its bad policy, its that straightforward and simple,” said Brooke van Velden, ACT’s deputy leader. “There won’t be better outcomes for New Zealanders.”

She claimed that the gradual ban amounted to "nanny-state prohibition," which would result in a large black market. She claimed that prohibition never worked and always had unintended consequences.

The law does not apply to vape, which has already surpassed smoking in popularity in New Zealand.

According to Statistics New Zealand, 8% of New Zealand adults smoke daily, down from 16% ten years ago. In the meantime, 8.3% of adults vaped on a daily basis, up from less than 1% six years ago.

Smoking rates among Indigenous Mor continue to be higher, with approximately 20% reporting that they smoked.

New Zealand already restricts cigarette sales to those over the age of 18, requires graphic health warnings on tobacco packs, and cigarettes to be sold in standardized packs.

In recent years, New Zealand has also imposed a series of significant tax increases on cigarettes.

Several health organizations applauded the law change. According to the Health Coalition Aotearoa, the new law is the culmination of decades of hard-fought advocacy by health and community organizations.