A Cabinet paper in 2020 said raising excise tax was a big factor in people stopping smoking. The report linked the big fall in smoking rates with the increases in excise tax since 2011. That could deliver a win for companies producing what are known as Heated Tobacco Products, or HTPs. Philip Morris urged the government to "establish a tax rate for heated tobacco products significantly below the tax rate" for smoked tobacco. Hoek said removing the excise tax from heated tobacco products would be welcomed by the tobacco industry.
