Abstract
The Government recently halved the excise tax on heated tobacco products. Associate Health Minister Casey Costello argued this move would see 7,200 “hardcore smokers” stop
smoking. However, there is no robust, independent evidence to support heated tobacco products as smoking cessation tools. Nor does the evidence support assertions that the
population of people who still smoke are more 'hardened' (i.e., more addicted). It is time for the Government to take the evidence-based approach to decision-making that each party committed to in the Coalition agreement. If the Government is, as it claims, committed to reducing smoking prevalence, it should re-introduce denicotinisation, a measure supported by Health Minister Dr Shane Reti, and predicted to bring rapid declines in smoking.