63917 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

63917 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: On what date was she first made aware of heated tobacco products’ alleged potential as a smoking cessation tool?

Hon Casey Costello: It is not possible to specify a date given the volume of information that staff in my office access and read on a daily basis. However, taxing smokeless tobacco at a lower rate than cigarettes was included in the NZ First-National Coalition Agreement, which was released publicly on 24 November 2023.