The country’s new center-right coalition is repealing a ban on the sale of tobacco to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009, which critics say will cost lives.

Health and tobacco campaigners said Monday that New Zealand’s plan to repeal laws that would ban tobacco sales for future generations threatened lives and put international efforts to curb smoking at risk.

The country’s new center-right coalition will scrap the laws introduced by the previous Labour-led government, according to coalition agreements published on Friday.

The package of measures would have seen bans on selling tobacco to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009, reduced the amount of nicotine allowed in smoked tobacco products and cut the number of retailers able to sell tobacco by over 90%.

They marked some of the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world. A ban on smoking for future generations was subsequently proposed in Britain, with other countries also considering similar rules.