Alternative nicotine delivery products, such as nicotine e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and snus, are now available for sale and use in New Zealand.
But there is a catch: the Ministry of Health is set to apply outdated cigarette laws to these new products and is even considering taxing them in the same way as smoking.
Outdated regulations and taxes will mislead cigarette smokers and make healthier options less attractive. That's why we've launched this campaign to clear the air around alternative nicotine products.
If New Zealand smokers all switched to less harmful alternative nicotine delivery products:
- Smokers would receive a tax cut equivalent to nearly $2 billion.
- Around 5,000 lives per year would be saved from smoking related deaths.
Applying rules applicable to smoking will mean that it will be illegal to advertise the health or financial benefits of switching from cigarettes to alternative products.