A petition to include Snus tobacco (rhymes with moose) in the Smoke-free Environments Act has been heard by MPs on the Health Committee at Parliament.
Snus is a smokeless tobacco product in the form of a powder which is placed behind the upper lip.
The petition asks Parliament to include the product in its goal to make New Zealand smoke-free by 2025 as a smoking cessation tool. It says "Snus has epidemiological evidence supporting its health claims. Three out of four smokers who try Snus, quit smoking for good."
Lizzie Armstrong listens to her colleague Sally Stewart briefing a Select Committee for the Ministry of Health Photo: © VNP / Phil Smith
The Health Select Committee has received a briefing from the Ministry of Health on the status, benefits and the risks of Snus.
The committee hearing evidence demonstrated that a key focus of their role is vetting legislation so their questions showed a particular interest in an upcoming bill to regulate vaping.
They wanted to know how widely it will be written and when it comes before the committee, whether they might be able broaden it to include non-vaping products. The Ministry doesn't write the bill but they will have fed into the process and provided technical advice an the committee wanted the goss.
National MP Nicky Wagner looking for he inside running on an upcoming bill, with an eye towards whether the Health Committee will be able to amend it in line with evidence they have been hearing. Photo: © VNP / Phil Smith
This illustrates the natural split within Parliament between the select committees (who represent Parliament) and the Government (which is made up of MPs but which Parliament supervises). Even the governing party members of a committee aren't "in" on the inner workings of government (like constructing legislation). Their job as MPs on a subject select committee is to critique and improve bills (the same role as that of opposition members on the same committee - albeit possibly more gently).
Listen to Phil Smith's report on the hearing in the audio below.
