Costello brushes off revelation tobacco giant Philip Morris targeted NZ First

The country's smokefree minister Casey Costello has brushed off revelations that a tobacco giant specifically targeted her party for more favourable regulation.

Opposition parties say those revelations are all the more reason for Costello to show she is not being influenced by tobacco lobbyists.

RNZ reported a leaked Philip Morris lobbying strategy from 2017 to get Heated Tobacco Products and other smokeless nicotine products to be embraced as part of Smokefree 2025.

It stated the company should target New Zealand First and the Māori Party.

Costello, who is a New Zealand First MP and associate health minister, recently cut the excise tax on heated tobacco products by 50 percent, at a potential cost of $216 million.

The document also identified a strategy to leverage on positions already held by the Taxpayers' Union and the New Zealand Initiative.

Costello was a board member and also the chairperson of the Taxpayers' Union before entering Parliament.

The Greens are concerned about the influence of lobbying and Labour says the minister seems to be in thrall to tobacco lobbyists.

Costello indicated she was not responsible for the decisions at the time.

"We've traversed this subject so many times. We're committed to achieving the smokefree targets. I think the news article related to something from 2017, I was working in construction then."

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the government had given Philip Morris a $216m tax cut.

"Just imagine what we could have done with that money if it wasn't being used to pay off big tobacco."

Verrall said the leaked document showed the strategy Philip Morris was going to adopt "seems to be exactly what Minister Casey Costello has done in government".

Costello has claimed these help people quit smoking, but Verrall said there was "absolutely no evidence".

When asked why she thought Philip Morris targeted NZ First, Verrall responded saying NZ First had a record of voting against smokefree initiatives, and, due to this, she imagined they thought NZ First was sympathetic to their approaches.

The Green Party health spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said Philip Morris had a free pass into New Zealand, "with tax cuts available for them with their heated tobacco products".

"It's really disappointing that we're at this point, that political influence is now out in the open in the way that they've been lobbying over a number of years to see this happen now and come out in the public."

Lyndon said the minister had a background in this space, and "we really just need to see more information as to how much Philip Morris's influences decision making of the minister".

Costello faced further scrutiny in the House on Thursday afternoon, following sustained questioning from Verrall, who asked if the minister stood by her statement that she had no relationship to the tobacco industry.

Verrall added, in reference to the Taxpayers' Union, "if so, how does she explain having been chair of an organisation identified as a partner in a Philip Morris strategy document and now implementing the objectives of that document in her role as minister?"

Costello responded saying multiple issues were being conflated, that "it's almost time to get dizzy".

"I can understand why the member doesn't want us associated with that organisation [The Taxpayers' Union], because they stand for lower taxes, less waste, and more accountability.

"We are committed to achieving the smoke-free target. We will do so. It is absolutely our duty to meet the smoke-free 2025 target."

Verrall then asked the minister to take action to address concerns that "commitments in the New Zealand First and National Party coalition agreement on tobacco arose from the actions planned in the Philip Morris strategy document".

Costello said the action she would take was to achieve the Smokefree 2025 target.

Verrall put to the minister whether, "New Zealanders [are] expected to believe it's a mere coincidence that her actions in government are in lockstep with the objectives of a Philip Morris strategy document?"

Costello again answered that the New Zealand public should believe that this government was committed to achieving smoke-free 2025.

Finally, Verrall asked whether the minister felt any obligation to "take further steps to show to the people of New Zealand that she has not been influenced by the tobacco industry?"

Costello's response was that she had taken further steps in making a genuine commitment and undertaking that she had no association with the tobacco industry.

"The fact that the member refuses to believe that is not my problem."

In a statement, Philip Morris said the heated tobaccco products were sold in 70 countries around the world, and were usually taxed less than cigarettes because of reduced harm.

"In New Zealand, there is no excise tax on e-cigarettes, so in relative terms heated tobacco is still at a disadvantage among other smoke free alternatives to cigarettes," it said.

"We will continue to advocate for better options for adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking, and will not be deterred by a small cohort who hold a vested interest in our silence."