Back in the 1970s, more than one in three New Zealanders were cigarette smokers.
Even up until the mid-90s you could spot the Marlboro logo in Formula 1 races; Benson and Hedges was spruiked at cricket matches; the actual NRL grand prize, the Winfield Cup, was named after a brand of cigarettes.
But over the past couple of decades, the landscape has utterly changed.
Cigarette advertising was banned, as were sponsorships. Airplanes went smokefree - then bars and restaurants.
A decade of relentless tax hikes sent the price of a packet of smokes into the stratosphere: nowadays, a pack of 20 cigarettes will set you back more than $30.
A decade of relentless tax hikes sent the price of a packet of smokes into the stratosphere: nowadays, a pack of 20 cigarettes will set you back more than $30. The youth rate - 15-17 year-olds who smoke every day - is down at 3 per cent; an 80 per cent drop compared to 15 years ago. And with the government s goal of a Smokefree New Zealand by 2025 less than four years away, associate health minister Ayesha Verrall has called in the cavalry, unveiling a suite of proposals which she hopes will be the final nail in the coffin for the number one cause of preventable death worldwide.
Pacifico Dream is top three-year-old
A top colt in Victoria this season – he has won eight races and been twice placed in 14 starts for $137,630 – is Pacifico Dream, a close relative of Guaranteed. He gave a taste of his class with a dominant win in the Group 3 VHRC Caduceus 3YO Cup at Melton last Saturday.
Earlier in the season he won the VHRC Sires Classic at Melton and the Central Victorian Pacing Championship at Wedderburn.
Pacifico Dream has a background of blood to back up his claims to further promotion, being by
Mach Three out of the unraced Mint Julep, by Presidential Ball from Australia’s first sub 1:50 mare Jadah Rose 1:49.6 ($465,424).