Philip Morris International (PMI) has won the right to sell and market heat-not-burn Heets sticks in New Zealand in a legal ruling against the Ministry of Health.
A district court judge in the capital, Wellington, ruled that although the law prohibited the importation and sale of any form of tobacco product that was not smoked, heat-not-burn (HnB) products such as IQOS and Heets – its tobacco refill component – represented a potential public health boon.
He said preventing a safer method of nicotine delivery would not be something the original drafters of the law would want to prohibit – even if the law as worded technically did so.
Sign up to access our business and regulatory briefings and get the most updated news, insights and our expert analysis to keep you on top of worldwide industry trends.
By signing up you agree to our Terms and Conditions Please note trial access may take up to 24 hours to be granted as access must be qualified by a member of the ECigIntelligence team.
