It is looking unlikely that New Zealand will be smoke-free by 2025. Although smoking rates have declined since 2011, they still remain high, particularly among Maori and Pacific. At the current rates, we predict smoking will persist well into the second half of the century. The effectiveness of ever-rising tobacco taxes in reducing smoking appears to have plateaued and low income smokers are being heavily penalised by these taxes.

If further increases in excise tax isn’t an effective way of reducing smoking, what is? In our recent submission to the Tax Working Group for Philip Morris, we discuss the potential role of taxation policy in encouraging switching to significantly less harmful options including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. Our submission discusses introducing a risk-proportionate excise duty that applies to heated tobacco products. Read about it in our submission or the one page infographic below.