mn 0. (OU tenet sia se Dy ne net rb covmatan Voy St Dr Erle Crampton ceric.crampton@canterbury.ac.nz huatanga 0 te wa fescsirese * seasagnen Tena koe Dr Crampton, i “Thank you for your further email of 14 September 2010 about the Ministry of Health's $1.9 billon estimated cost of smoking to Vote Health. I can only reassert that | am satisfied that ths figure is the best current estimate ofthe actual annual health costs that result from smoking status, rather than other reasons. Furthermore, the $1.9 bllon igure is oniy one of many pieces of Information the Government takes into consideration when deciding (on health policies related to smoking. While giving a good indication ‘of what the current costs are of treating the health damage caused by ‘smoking, this figure has never been portrayed as a measure of what might be saved if compared to a world where smoking had been ‘eradicated. Sadly, a fuly tobacco-free New Zealand isnot a likely prospect in the near future, although many people believe itis a goal worth aspiring to. “Thank you for your correspondence on this matter. | have noted your Heol ano, Bose Taz na Hon Tanana Tuna