The move was announced on the Customs website and will be effective from 1 July. Costello said she had cut the excise rate on HTPs by 50 per cent to encourage smokers to switch to safer alternatives, according to RNZ.

Others such as Janet Hoek, a Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago, disagree saying that the move favoured the tobacco industry.

“Certainly, that is something that tobacco companies would have been keen to see happen,” Hoek said. “This is not advice that is coming from the Ministry (of Health). It certainly seems to be advice that is suiting tobacco industry interests,” she said.

Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Costello also asked for advice on liberalising the regulation of HTPs but it was opposed to the idea, reports RNZ.

“There is no evidence to support their use as a quit smoking tool,” ministry officials told her. “We do not recommend liberalising the way HTPs are promoted. This would likely compound existing concerns about youth uptake and addiction to nicotine products.”

Costello is also looking into allowing the sale of oral nicotine products to help achieve the Smokefree 2025 goal although the Ministry of Health has warned her about doing so.

“On balance, we do not recommend extending the range of nicotine products available for sale in New Zealand,” it said. “Additional products will likely compound existing concerns about young peoples’ addiction to nicotine for little benefit,” it said.