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Growing your own tobacco may be considered by some to be cheaper and healthier than buying it but Customs officers have warned growers to take a closer look.
They say the law has changed and the financial and health impacts of home-grown tobacco can be significant.
Terry Brown, the Customs Service's investigations manager, says that while growing tobacco is not illegal, if it is to be sold or given away it must be manufactured on licensed premises and excise duty must be paid on saleable products.
In the latest issue of Customs' Contraband magazine, he said growers who grew tobacco purely for their own use were exempt, but they must not sell it or give it away.
"In that case you are risking significant penalties or imprisonment if you are convicted under the Customs and Excise Act 1996.
"You also have to pay $361.45 in excise for every kilo you sell or give away."
Mr Brown said that manufacturing tobacco in an unlicensed area could earn a $10,000 fine for individuals or $50,000 for a corporate, or up to three times the value of the goods. Manufacturers could also be jailed for six months.
However, he said, those penalties were only part of the home-grown tobacco industry's risks.
Manufacturers bypassed the Smoke-Free Environments Act, which limited the harmful content of tobacco.
"So if you are buying illicit tobacco you don't know what's going into your body, which toxins are present, and what amounts of toxins are in there," he said.
Customs says tobacco-related illness kills more than 5000 people a year in New Zealand and it is recognised throughout the world as the most dangerous consumer product.
- NZPA
