Read articles from New Zealand
October 19, 2020 by filtermag.org
Māori Women Benefit From a Harm Reduction Approach to Smoking
Smoking rates among Indigenous peoples have remained stubbornly high around the world, despite stigmatizing anti-smoking campaigns and massive increases in cigarette taxes. In New Zealand, a pack of cigarettes now costs the equivalent of almost $25 US.
Māori women are one of the most socially deprived groups in New Zealand, and have the highest smoking rate of any demographic there, at 36 percent. Pregnant Māori women are 35 percent more likely than the general pregnant population to be smokers. Māori men also smoke at a high rate of 31 percent.
September 18, 2020 by miragenews.com
Smokers increasingly using e-cigarettes to quit, survey shows
People who smoke are increasingly using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, a study by researchers at the University of Otago, Wellington, has found.
The researchers found that between 2016 and 2018 the level of awareness, as well as the use of e-cigarettes, increased among smokers and those who had recently quit smoking. The principal investigator of the study, Professor Richard Edwards from the University’s Department of Public Health, says e-cigarette use was most common among those aged 18-24 years and among those who had recently quit smoking.
September 17, 2020 by rnz.co.nz
New Zealand First aims to cut price of cigarettes to $20
Party leader Winston Peters announced the policy today, saying the party intended to stop punishing smokers with high excise tax and help them quit.
Peters says it will support ASH's surge strategy, making alternatives to smoking affordable and widely available.
He says the government's current Smokefree 2025 approach isn't working with the added contradiction and hypocrisy of holding a referendum on legalising recreational marijuana.
"We don't think that young and, particularly, poor people should be screwed any longer on this matter," he says.
September 15, 2020 by scoop.co.nz
Webinar For Kiwi Vapers Attracts World-leading Experts
New Zealand’s 200,000 vapers are being encouraged to attend an online conference [...] “Over 10 years of scientific research shows that smoke-free nicotine products are at least 95% less harmful than combustible tobacco and have helped millions quit deadly smoking. As consumer groups, we now want to do all we can to influence public policy and reduce the enormous health risks and costs caused by cigarettes,” says Ms Loucas. Ms Loucas believes New Zealand vapers’ participation and input would be highly valued, particularly given Parliament has just passed legislation to regulate vaping, [...]
August 28, 2020 by nzherald.co.nz
Cigarette sales down as vaping up, End Smoking NZ says, but Smokefree 2025 target won't be met
Cigarette sales are plunging faster than any time before as smokers turn to alternatives like vaping - with 410 million fewer smokes sold annually than just two years ago.
Dr Murray Laugesen, a trustee of the End Smoking NZ charity, analysed tobacco company returns that are published by the Ministry of Health and found a remarkable drop in sales.
About 2132 million cigarettes were sold last year - 193 million fewer than 2018, and following a 217 million drop the previous year.
August 07, 2020 by nzherald.co.nz
Vaping law passes: Advertising banned, flavours restricted and illegal for under 18s
The "wild west" vaping industry has three months to get its house in order after a new law banning advertising and restricting flavours has finally passed under urgency.
It's taken 620 days to get the law over the line after Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa promised to regulate the industry in November 2018.
It wasn't until this year she introduced the bill, which was voted through the House late last night - just before the final sitting day in this term of government.
Salesa blamed the delays on it being a "complex bill", and said it was the most significant change to the Smokefree Act.
July 29, 2020 by chron.com
WHO unveils Florence, the world's first digital health worker to combat smoking and COVID-19 myths
The World Health Organization has launched its first digital health worker, Florence. The digital health worker was created by a company in New Zealand, Soul Machines.
Because Florence is a robot, there is no potential health-related judgment involved.
Greg Cross, co-founder of Soul Machines, said in a video that “The lack of human judgment actually makes our digital people more approachable and potentially more helpful.” The primary purpose of the WHO initiative help convince one billion tobacco users to quit smoking. [...]
April 02, 2020 by spotify.com
Pushing Through Prohibition In a Time of Pain
Join Dr. Marewa Glover and tobacco harm reduction journalist Michael McGrady as they discuss the exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to implement prohibition measures for restricting tobacco and alcohol access across the nation of New Zealand in a new interview. [...]
March 20, 2020 by scoop.co.nz
A Chance To Clear The Air With New Vaping Rules
The Health Coalition Aotearoa welcomes the Government's leadership in outlining vaping regulations and recognising widespread concerns about vape marketing. These regulations recognise vapes could help smokers move to a less harmful source of nicotine while also acknowledging we must protect children from getting hooked on nicotine.
The Smokefree Expert Advisory Group of the Health Coalition Aotearoa, an umbrella organisation for the health advocacy, healthcare and academic sectors, congratulates the government on introducing this needed legislation.
March 03, 2020 by scoop.co.nz
Kiwi vaping advocate takes on WHO’s tobacco stance
A well-known New Zealand vaping advocate has returned from the Philippines resolute that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) steadfast position of tobacco control, not harm reduction, is costing considerable lives globally.
Nancy Loucas, Executive Director for CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia-Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates), says tobacco use causes one million deaths a year in the Asia-Pacific region alone, and the rights of consumers using smoke-free alternatives need to be respected.