Heated tobacco product tax cut aims to help last 280,000 smokers quit

The Government has slashed the excise tax on heated tobacco products in a bid to utilise them as a tool to stop people smoking cigarettes.

Customs Minister Casey Costello announced a trial to reduce the excise tax on heated tobacco products (HTPs) by 50 per cent from July 1.

The Government's aim is to make the devices a more attractive alternative to smoking.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris owns a leading brand in the HTP market, called the IQOS.

Sticks of tobacco are inserted into the device and heated, rather than burned.

Philip Morris has lobbied for a cut to the excise tax on HTPs, telling the Tax Working Group in 2018 the Government should "establish a tax rate for heated tobacco products significantly below the tax rate" for tobacco.

In a statement to RNZ, Costello said vaping had been a successful quit-smoking tool and she wanted to see if HTPs could also be a useful cessation device.

"Vaping does not work for everyone and some attempting to quit have tried several times.

"HTPs have a similar risk profile to vapes and they are currently legally available, so we are testing what impact halving excise on those products makes.

"For tobacco products, I think it is for the first time (excise tax has been reduced), but it's part of the strategy around targeting those who are addicted smokers and to provide alternate products."  

HTPs heat real tobacco instead of burning it like cigarettes. Vaping heats a liquid and turns it into a vapour which the user inhales.

"(HTPs are) a less harmful solution, so we are looking at a range of options because we're now dealing with about 280,000 who are hardcore addicted smokers," Costello said.

The Ministry of Health said there is no evidence HTPs help people quit smoking.

- By Geoff Sloan, made with the support of NZ On Air