A Smokefree Aotearoa – could taking the nicotine out of smoked tobacco products help us get there?

Monday, September 6th, 2021 | carra86p | 1 Comment

Nick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Nhung Nghiem, Jennifer Summers, Leah Grout, Richard Edwards*

This blog presents key findings from a modelling study where we estimated the impact that denicotinising smoked tobacco products could have on smoking prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand. A policy requiring that all smoked tobacco products are virtually nicotine free is one of the key proposals included in the Smokefree 2025 Action Plan Discussion Document that was published in April this year.

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A Smokefree Aotearoa Action Plan: Why this could eliminate smoking disparities for Māori

Friday, May 28th, 2021 | tedla55p | No Comments

Andrew Waa, Heather Gifford, Shane Bradbrook

The recent release of the Government’s “Proposals for a Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan” (the  Plan) represents a significant step forward in how we think about tobacco control1. The Plan specifically references eliminating smoking related inequities, strengthening Māori governance and fulfilling government commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi as an essential part of achieving our Smokefree 2025 goal (SF2025). This blog considers the implications of the measures described in the plan for Māori.

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Illicit tobacco trade and the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Goal: Arguments and Evidence

Thursday, May 27th, 2021 | carra86p | No Comments

Dr Allen Gallagher, Dr Lindsay Robertson, Prof Janet Hoek, Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Richard Edwards*

The NZ Government has published proposals for an Action Plan to achieve the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Goal. This blog is one of a series examining key aspects of the proposals to help inform the debate and submissions. Here we examine the illicit tobacco trade. We examine the extent of the problem in NZ, consider how proposals in the Action Plan could affect the illicit tobacco trade in NZ, and discuss ways of mitigating any potential problems.

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Progress towards a Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan: Congratulations to the Government

Friday, April 16th, 2021 | tedla55p | 1 Comment

Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Anaru Waa, George Thomson, Nick Wilson (author details*)

We congratulate the NZ Government on its proposed Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. Here we examine the evidence for three key ideas outlined in the plan: permitting tobacco products to be sold in only a small number of stores; reducing the nicotine in tobacco products to very low levels; and restricting the legal sale of tobacco products to people born before a certain fixed year (the “smokefree generation” idea).

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The smokefree policies of political parties: Do they care about people who smoke?

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020 | Nick Wilson | 2 Comments

George Thomson*, Nick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Andrew Waa, Richard Edwards

In this time of Covid-19, helping people who smoke to quit their addiction has an even greater importance. Smokers are more vulnerable to many harmful health effects, including severe effects from the virus. Policies that support people who smoke to be smokefree would also increase the discretionary income of many of those most affected by the Covid-driven recession. We looked at the policies of seven New Zealand political parties and found that they are largely ignoring the strategies that would help smokers to become free of their nicotine addiction.

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