Philip Morris seeks tax break

International tobacco giant Philip Morris wants a tax break on its tobacco stick products, which it claims are less harmful.

Philip Morris New Zealand general manager James Williams said the excise treatments used by the Government to prevent people from smoking and recoup costs associated with smoking were not appropriate for non-combustable products.

Non-combustable smoking sticks heat the tobacco but don’t release as many harmful chemicals as a cigarette, Philip Morris claims.

‘‘Unfortunately our heated tobacco product at the moment is still treated like a combustable product. It still carries health warnings like it’s a cigarette,’’ he said.

The science on non-combustables has been funded by the industry to date.

The Cancer Society’s manager of advocacy and wellbeing, Shayne Nahu, told RNZ that Philip Morris wanted to test its tobacco sticks in the New Zealand market. ‘‘Why do we . . . want to be the experimental hothouse for a tobacco product we’re not sure of the research about?’’ he said.

Non-combustables contain nicotine and can still cause addiction.

The product was launched in New Zealand in 2016 but Philip Morris was taken to court by the Ministry of Health, which challenged the product’s legality. The judge ruled in favour of Philip Morris last May.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris says its smoke-free tobacco sticks have less impact on people’s health than cigarettes.