NEW ZEALAND
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union (TPU) issued an August 10 press release claiming that the New Zealand government is choosing to pursue tax revenues instead of helping smokers quit. In the release, TPU claims that regulations will require tobacco-alternatives to be packaged in a manner which would deter smokers from using the healthier alternatives.
Alternative products sold in New Zealand will soon be required to be labeled with the same anti-smoking labels as regular cigarettes. This requirement extends to non-combustion products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and snus.
TPU executive director, Jordan Williams, said “Considering these products don’t expose users to the harmful compounds in cigarette smoke, applying cigarette packaging to the new products runs completely counter to public health goals and the government’s Smokefree 2025 goal.” According to Williams, if all current smokers were to switch to the lower-taxed alternative products, the government would stand to lose approximately NZ$2 billion in tax revenues.
Williams also said that the New Zealand government “…appears to prefer money over the lives these products would save if regulated appropriately.”