The Associate Health Minister says the $216 million set aside to fund tax cuts for tobacco products is unlikely to end up costing that much.

The Government has implemented a 50 percent cut to the excise tax on heated tobacco products - which are viewed as an alternative to vaping and traditional cigarettes.

Minister Casey Costello says the modelling had been based on Japan's use of heated tobacco products, which wouldn't match New Zealand.

"To put some perspective - we're talking about, in total, smokeless tobacco products in 2023 was about $6 million worth of excise. HTP is only a small component of that."

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The Associate Health Minister says the $216 million set aside to fund tax cuts for tobacco products is unlikely to end up costing that much.
The Government has implemented a 50 percent cut to the excise tax on heated tobacco products - which are viewed as an alternative to vaping and traditional cigarettes.
Minister Casey Costello says the modelling had been based on Japan's use of heated tobacco products, which wouldn't match New Zealand.
"To put some perspective - we're talking about, in total, smokeless tobacco products in 2023 was about $6 million worth of excise. HTP is only a small component of that."
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