We recently returned from New Zealand, celebrating the wedding of our dear friends Georgie and Mark. With a common language (save for their funny accents) and Anglo background, I found it much easier to feel at home in NZ than in other countries I have visited. But despite my initial level of comfort, I slowly came to realize some significant cultural differences.
I noted a young gentleman in the Brisbane airport with a Southern Cross tattooed on the back of his arm. As I thought about it, I realized that his US-equivalent tattoo is a bald eagle with the American flag flowing from her wings. Immediately the tattoo became less cool.
Government is another conspicuous difference between the US and NZ. The Kiwi government is unapologetically socialist. One area where this was made manifest was at the cigarette counter in the grocery stores. First, I noticed the prices: packs cost anywhere between $12-17 (NZ), which translates roughly to $8-12 US. Additionally, the country was due for a 10% increase in prices effective the first of the year. The second thing I noticed was a photo located at the top of the pack: a gangrenous foot. In the States we have a black box, US Surgeon General's warning. In New Zealand, they have a gangrenous foot, or a bleeding brain, or a cancerous lung. The back of the packs are completely covered with an expanded version of the same packet, one even including a dead baby. You can view the 14 different graphics here.
So why do our governments take such different approaches regarding smoking warnings? One reason is the different models of governments employed. Even under the control of Democratic congress and presidents, the US is one of the most free-market, limited-intervention governments in the world (despite what one Glenn Beck might tell you). The Kiwis? Not so much.
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