‘Heat not burn’ tobacco probe
Multi-national tobacco giant Philip Morris is giving smokers private demonstrations of its ‘‘heat not burn’’ electronic devices, and insists it is not breaking the law.
Through an invitation-only website, the tobacco giant is marketing its IQOS smokeless electronic devices which heat sticks of tobacco to release the nicotine addicts crave without burning it.
But tobacco sales are tightly regulated, and Philip Morris’ sales strategy has caught the attention of the Ministry of Health.
The ministry’s chief legal officer, Phil Knipe, said promotion and sale of the product was being investigated.
The ministry’s website says ‘‘Heat not burn’’ products are considered tobacco products for oral use, and Section 29(2) of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, says: ‘‘No person shall import for sale, sell, pack, or distribute any tobacco product labelled or otherwise described as suitable for chewing, or for any other oral use (other than smoking).’’
Knipe said: ‘‘ The ministry’s view is that the electronic device (IQOS) in itself is not an illegal product but the heat sticks (called HEETS) inserted into the device are tobacco products and therefore their sale must be made in accordance with the Smoke-free Environments Act.’’
But Philip Morris was confident it had the law on its side.
‘‘The sale of our heated tobacco product HEETS complies with all relevant sections of the SmokeFree Environments Act (1990),’’ Jason Erickson, general manager for Philip Morris New Zealand said.
‘‘The section of the law referenced by the ministry was put in place in the 1990s to address chewing tobacco and has nothing to do with heated tobacco or e-cigarettes.
‘‘We are currently making our IQOS device and HEETS available to registered adult smokers on a website. If requested, we will provide a demonstration on how to use the IQOS device, which as the Ministry of Health has acknowledged, is a consumer electronics product.’’
Entry to the IQOS website is only possible through a Philip Morris ’’invitation code’’, which requires visitors to state they are an adult smoker.
Sources in the e-cigarette community say Philip Morris had initially hoped to create a ‘‘pop-up’’ shop in Auckland, but had opted instead for the lower-profile private demonstrations.
There has been a rush to develop devices that deliver nicotine without burning tobacco.
The chief rival to Philip Morris’ ‘‘heat not burn’’ devices are e-cigarettes that deliver nicotinelaced vapour.
These are now widely sold in New Zealand alongside bottles of the nicotine e-liquids they use, despite the ministry’s belief that: ‘‘E-cigarettes containing nicotine manufactured from tobacco are not legally able to be sold in New Zealand.’’
But, it said late last year: ‘‘Due to a lack of clarity on the legal position of e-cigarettes ... the ministry has been unable to carry out enforcement actions against retailers.’’
Despite a developing body of evidence that smokeless nicotine delivery systems like e-cigarettes and ‘heat not burn’’ devices are less harmful than cigarettes, New Zealand is not expected to decide whether to formally legalise them, or on how to regulate their sale, until next year.