Health experts are outraged at the associate minister's proposal to bring in a three-year freeze on tobacco excise tax.

Associate health minister Casey Costello sought advice on a three-year freeze on the inflation-adjusted tax on smoking tobacco products.

Casey says the tax affected addicted smokers who could come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

An anti-smoking advocacy group wanted her to be stripped of her health duties altogether.

A freeze on the excise tax would mean the price of smoking tobacco products would not be increased based on inflation for three years.

Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chairperson Boyd Swinburn says such a move would just make the products more accessible.

Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Boyd Swinburn Photo: Supplied.

"This proposal from Casey to put a three-year freeze on this inflation-adjusted excise tax is essentially meaning that tobacco is going to get relatively cheaper over the next three years, because it won't be keeping pace with the rest of inflation," he says.

"She's acting more like a minister for the tobacco industry."

Boyd wants Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to take action.

"The Health Coalition is calling for her to be replaced as an associate minister of health, given all these policies she's come out with which are really supporting the tobacco industry's position."

In documents revealed to RNZ, Casey was asked if she wanted advice on the freeze for January, to which she circled 'yes' and signed in December.

But the associate minister says it was just information gathering, not a proposal.

"We're dealing with just under 300,000 people who are daily smokers - they are now addicted smokers," Casey says.

"I am committed to looking at the very best options to getting those people away from smoking."

Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says Costello was standing on shaky ground. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver.

Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says Casey needed to come clean with her intentions.

"We've known for some time that New Zealand First has had a policy against increases in the tobacco excise," the former health minister says.

"The minister is standing on very shaky ground there saying that she's sympathetic to smokers and their addiction.

"The issue here is that smokers in New Zealand have a range of affordable and free alternatives to get them off these deadly products."

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive Letitia Harding says a freeze on tax was an unbelievable suggestion.

"I think it is outrageous. Outrageous is not reducing the number of tobacco outlets, not supporting very low nicotine content in cigarettes," Letitia says, "the banning of the smoke-free generation, so this is just another thing that is totally outrageous."

The coalition government has already announced it would scrap world-leading smoke-free legislation.

Letitia saysthis could be another hit to the smoke-free movement if it went ahead.

"It feels like more of a win for big tobacco.

"We're getting down to extremely low levels of people who smoke in New Zealand, around 7 percent for adults who smoke daily, and we want to encourage people to quit smoking of course, but we also don't want people to take it up."

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ says the proposal feels like more of a win for big tobacco. (file image) Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King.

Health Aotearoa Commission co-chairperson Leitu Tufuga says it would have the most adverse effects on Māori and Pasifika communities, if it went through.

"We will basically be going backwards," she says.

"We know for Māori they currently have the highest smoking prevalence, then we also look at Pasifika, again they are vulnerable."

She says they needed to see legislation which tackled the smoking prevalence.

Action on Smoking and Health director Ben Youden says the proposal simply did not make much sense.

"Given the finance minister has stated last year that tobacco tax is an important revenue, it seems odd that a freeze on excise tax would be on the table."

However, Ben says prices on tobacco needed to walk a fine line between deterring smokers and not financially hindering those addicted.

Casey has also proposed removing the excise tax from smokeless tobacco products, where the tobacco is heated to a vapour rather than burned.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis declined to be interviewed because the proposal "is not under consideration".

- Jordan Dunn/ RNZ