Thank you for contacting the Office of Hon Casey Costello, Minister of
Customs, Minister for Seniors, Associate Minister of Health, Associate
Minister of Immigration, and Associate Minister of Police. 
The Minister considers all correspondence important and appreciates you
taking the time to write. Please note that as Minister Costello receives a
large amount of correspondence it is not always possible to personally
reply to all emails. 
The following guidelines apply: 
 

* Portfolio related correspondence will be considered and responded to
where appropriate. 
 
* If your message is for Minister Costello’s advice, or if you have
copied your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with
more appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted. 

* Invitations and requests to meet with the Minister will be processed
as soon as possible and a staff member will be in contact with you in
due course. Please note this email is an acknowledgment that your
invitation/request has been received. 

* If you have made a request for official information then this will be
managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information
Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or
agency. 
* If your email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be
no further response to you. 

* Media queries will be referred to the Minister’s press secretary. 

 Again, thank you for writing. 
Kind regards, 
 
Office of Hon Casey Costello 
Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors | Associate Minister of Health
| Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Police 
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand 
DDI: 04 817 6827 
 
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal,
or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would
list: date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
 
Disclaimer:  
The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and
may be legally privileged. If an addressing or transmission error has
misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email
and destroy the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful. 

Dear Stephanie,

I acknowledge receipt of your email of   1st April 2025   in which you submitted an Official Information Act request as follows:

Your OIA Request:
I request copies of all correspondence, including but not limited to emails, letters, text messages, meeting notes, briefing papers, reports, and internal memoranda, relating to or mentioning Swedish Match or Zyn (or any related terms such as "nicotine pouches," "oral nicotine," or "smokeless tobacco").

This request covers all relevant communications:
Between yourself (or your office) and representatives of Swedish Match, Zyn, or any affiliated entities.
Between your office and other government departments, agencies, or officials discussing Swedish Match, Zyn, or nicotine pouches.
Between your office and external lobbyists, industry groups, public health advocates, or other stakeholders referencing these topics.
Any internal discussions or documents within your office that mention Zyn or related products.

To ensure completeness, I request that this search includes:
Official government email accounts, personal accounts (where used for official business), and any instant messaging applications used for government correspondence.
Meeting minutes or records of discussions where Swedish Match, Zyn, or nicotine pouches were mentioned.
Any briefings, reports, or policy discussions in which these products or companies were considered.

Minister Hon Casey Costello is considering your official request in accordance with the Act, and you can expect a response by Friday 2nd May 2025 .

Kind regards

Office of Hon Casey Costello

Office of Hon Casey Costello
Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors
Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Health | Associate Minister of Police
2.054 PH, Parliament Buildings,Wellington 6160, New Zealand
E: [Casey Costello request email]

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful.

show quoted sections

Dear Stephanie,

 

I acknowledge your request for official information received on 1 April
requesting: 

 

“ I request copies of all correspondence, including but not limited to
emails, letters, text messages, meeting notes, briefing papers, reports,
and internal memoranda, relating to or mentioning Swedish Match or Zyn (or
any related terms such as "nicotine pouches," "oral nicotine," or
"smokeless tobacco").

 

This request covers all relevant communications:

Between yourself (or your office) and representatives of Swedish Match,
Zyn, or any affiliated entities.

Between your office and other government departments, agencies, or
officials discussing Swedish Match, Zyn, or nicotine pouches.

Between your office and external lobbyists, industry groups, public health
advocates, or other stakeholders referencing these topics.

Any internal discussions or documents within your office that mention Zyn
or related products.

 

To ensure completeness, I request that this search includes:

Official government email accounts, personal accounts (where used for
official business), and any instant messaging applications used for
government correspondence.

Meeting minutes or records of discussions where Swedish Match, Zyn, or
nicotine pouches were mentioned.

Any briefings, reports, or policy discussions in which these products or
companies were considered.”

 

The Office of Hon Casey Costello has decided to extend the period of time
available to respond to your request under section 15A of the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act) as the request is for a
consultations necessary to make
a decision on the request are such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit. 

 

You can now expect a response to your request on, or before, 7 May 2025.

 

You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to
review my decision to extend the time available to respond to your
request. 

 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello  

Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors 

Associate Minister of Health | Associate Minister of Immigration |
Associate Minister of Police

2.054 PH, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

E: [1][Casey Costello request email]

 

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[Casey Costello request email]

Dear Stephanie, 

 

Please find attached a response to your request for official information
from Associate Minister of Health, Hon Casey Costello.  

 

Kind Regards,

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello  

Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors 

Associate Minister of Health | Associate Minister of Immigration |
Associate Minister of Police

2.054 PH, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

E: [1][Casey Costello request email]

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Casey Costello request email]