A move to slash the excise tax on Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) is reckless and favours big tobacco over the health of New Zealanders.
This is the message from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ following news that Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has cut the excise rate on HTPs by 50 percent effective from 1 July.
Foundation Medical Director Professor Bob Hancox says the move sounds like more of a win for big tobacco than a genuine attempt to reduce smoking.
"Cutting the excise tax in half on these products to make them more attractive than cigarettes is reckless and irresponsible.
"It seems Minister Costello is giving big tobacco what they want, at the expense of our youth's health."
This move will increase the accessibility and appeal of these products, leading to increased nicotine dependence among young people, he says.
"We are already facing significant public health challenges due to the rise in vaping among young people."
The tax reduction in addition to axing Smokefree 2025 undermines the efforts that the Foundation - and others - have gone to protect future generations from the harms of tobacco, Professor Hancox says.
There are several Medsafe-approved medicines for smoking cessation, including nicotine-replacement products and non-nicotine medicines and they have been shown to help, he says.
"We need policies that discourage the use of all recreational nicotine products, not ones that make them more appealing.
"We should focus on reducing the overall consumption of harmful substances, not risking an epidemic of nicotine addiction among a new generation of young New Zealanders," Professor Hancox says.
"Heated tobacco products have not been shown to work and are not approved as a medicine for smoking cessation."
