Labour health spokesperson, Dr Ayesha Verrall, has called for Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s resignation after her push for people to switch to heated tobacco products (HTPs) went up in smoke.
“I think Casey Costello has no credibility as the associate minister of health, when she has rolled back smoking regulations that were protecting health, and when she’s gone on an ill-conceived effort to get HTPs being used, which has resulted in a tax break for Phillip Morris,” Verrall told media.
She wants Costello not only removed from her portfolio but also from the cabinet.
In response, Costello said the Labour MP’s calls for her to resign made no sense.
“What Verrall is saying is just silly politics. She wanted me to resign because she claimed I’m close to the tobacco industry. Now she wants me to resign because a tobacco company can’t sell a product. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Costello has been questioned about her decision, and she responded, saying she had received independent advice. She admitted Prime Minister Chris Luxon hadn’t seen the advice.
RNZ reported on Wednesday she would release the advice she had kept close to her chest later this week.
This comes after Costello’s HTPs push got caught up in the law Labour made last year for single-use vapes, which came into fruition on October 1 after being pushed out by six months previously.
The new law required all single-use vapes to have a removable battery and child safety mechanisms. HTPs didn’t add these requirements so they’ve been removed off shelves.
It’s a product that got a tax cut of around $216 million, money Verrall believes could’ve been given to other ministers who had been “duped” by Costello.
“It’s held in contingency which means it’s there if it’s needed for the reduction in excise duty , excise tax. However, the government can claim it back if unspent.
“The key thing here while it’s in contingency it could not be spent on any other Budget 2024 initiatives including the cancer medicines promise, which was turned down in the original writing of that budget.”
Costello said she was trying to get people to stop smoking.
“Everything I’m doing is about trying to get people to stop smoking.
“New Zealand’s had real success with people quitting smoking – 230,000 stopped in the past three years, and a lot of that’s due to having less harmful alternatives like vaping available.
“What we were trying with HTPs was seeing if reducing the excise would make them another useful quit tool.
“At the moment, new HTP products aren’t available, but all the other cessation tools, including vapes, are still available to adult smokers,” she said in a statement to Te Ao Māori News.