Source: Radio New Zealand
Health officials are concerned by the rate of smoking. (File photo) RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
For the first time in over a decade the decreasing trend of Māori smoking rates has stalled leaving health advocates devastated.
The latest New Zealand Health Survey showed daily smoking among Māori adults 15 and over has increased slightly from 14.8 to 15 percent.
That increase was considered “statistically insignificant” and was within the survey’s margin of error but, it still amounted to about 99,000 people. The total daily smoking rate was 6.8 percent.
General Manager of Hāpai Te Hauora Jasmine Graham (Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri) said unfortunately she was not surprised by the result.
The repeal of Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act (SERPA), which included the smokefree generation laws, has had a huge impact on New Zealand’s progress, or lack of progress, to Smokefree 2025, she said.
“It’s incredibly concerning and the reason is because these aren’t just numbers. These are people’s lives. So this is whakapapa. This is whānau who are passing away from tobacco-related illnesses from a product that is designed to firstly attract, addict and then kill.
“…We don’t want to see any stall in the numbers. We want to see those numbers decrease and especially reaching the end of 2025 and the goal that was set to be able to see a smoke-free Aotearoa by the end of this month.”
Graham said we still see about 5000 New Zealanders dying from the impacts of tobacco-related illnesses each year.
She said whānau Māori were going through a daily battle of addiction and having to make the conscious decision every day to try and not smoke.
“That’s not the fault of the whānau member or of the individual, that’s the fault of the industry. They’ve created this product to do just that, to keep you addicted. And when you have something as strong as nicotine in these products, that’s the problem.”
General Manager of Hāpai Te Hauora Jasmine Graham Supplied/Hāpai Te Hauora
She encouraged any whānau battling nicotine addiction to reach out to their local stop smoking service.
“I’ve had some people ask [if], you know… they’re the reason why we haven’t reached [Smokefree 2025] and they’re only thinking of the stat numbers. And I’m like, absolutely not. Because none of the responsibility is on our community or our people. All of the responsibility sits on the industry.”
Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello said New Zealand had made great progress in reducing smoking rates – especially since 2018 when vapes became widely available.
The gains had been particularly noticeable for young people and for Māori, she said.
“When the NZ Health Survey began in 2011/12, over 37 percent of Māori were daily smokers. In the latest survey that figure was down to 15 percent. Since 2018, Māori smoking rates have halved and the latest stats show 118,000 Māori have quit smoking in the last five years.
“These reductions are really significant, no other country is making this sort of progress. But of course we still have a way to go – we want to stop people smoking to reduce the health impacts and there’s a particular focus on supporting Māori and Pacific populations where rates are higher.”
Costello said the challenge was that we were down to the most “stubborn” smokers. The highest smoking rates were for those over 45, she said.
“Marketing activity is targeting these groups, as are the country’s quit smoking providers. This is important as people are around four times more likely to quit smoking by using a stop smoking service, than by trying on their own.
“An updated Smokefree Action plan released at the end of last year sets out the range of approaches that are being taken to stop people smoking and target key groups.”
One of the improvements needed was timely referrals to quit smoking providers, she said.
“I’d really encourage people to make contact with those services.”
Graham said it was worth celebrating there had been so many people who had gone through their quit journey and come out the other side to live a smokefree life.
At the same time there had been many Māori movers and shakers who led the kaupapa of tobacco control boldly who should be celebrated, she said.
“I think it’s to be celebrated that we still want to see a smoke-free Aotearoa, whatever the date is, that we’re looking to be able to save lives.
“We’re not just talking about numbers or stats, we’re talking about the livelihood of our people.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
