Abstract
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello recently halved the excise tax levied on heated tobacco products. Tobacco companies had advocated for this change; however, the Ministry of Health had advised Minister Costello that there was no evidence to support heated tobacco products as smoking cessation tools. Ms Costello described the move as a “trial”. However, she had previously criticised denicotinisation, the reduction in tobacco outlets, and the smokefree generation, as experimental and unproven, despite the strong evidence and arguments supporting each measure. In this Briefing we compare the position she took with respect to the measures she repealed and her stance on heated tobacco products.