Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

For the record, New Zealand doesn’t have a minister for the tobacco industry. Or does it?  The Associate Health Minister, Casey Costello is being labelled by some as the Minister for the Tobacco Industry, based on a proposal that’s yet to be confirmed by Casey Costello, that she wants to see a 3-year freeze on the tobacco tax.  What this means is that cigarettes would be insulated from the full impact of inflation under a proposal from the New Zealand First Associate Health Minister.  At the moment, tobacco excise is increased each year in line with the Consumer Price Index. Apart from gathering a swag of tax, it’s a way to encourage smokers to give up.  Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chairperson, Boyd Swinburn has come out all gun’s firing and smoking, saying that Casey Costello needs to be stripped of her duties and that she’s lost all credibility as an Associate Minister of Health.  After all the work done over the decades to encourage smokers to give up the darts, after all the hard work by previous governm