06 December
Opposition to new laws that will
significantly reduce the prevalence of smoking in Aotearoa
defies common sense, according to a leading public health
agency.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated
Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill today passed its
second reading in Parliament; however Hāpai Te Hauora CEO
Selah Hart says it was disappointing to hear MPs continuing
to criticise the bill on the grounds it would disadvantage
retailers.
“Treating deadly cigarettes like any other
consumer product demonstrates a staggering lack of awareness
of the harm tobacco causes,” Ms Hart says.
“People who
smoke are not demonstrating free will or expressing a
rational preference when they buy cigarettes, the cigarette
is in fact almost perfectly designed to eliminate a
smokers’ ability to do just that,” says Ms Hart.
Ms
Hart says the structure of the new legislation recognises
people who smoke need help to quit and is based on sound
academic research.
“The three key components of
reducing nicotine levels in tobacco products, reducing
availability, and ratcheting up the legal age for smoking
complement each other and must be introduced together if we
are to have any hope of reaching our goal of a Smokefree
Aotearoa,” Ms Hart says.
“The new laws are evidence
based and backed up by research going back decades – both
here in Aotearoa and internationally,” says Ms
Hart.
“Nicotine is highly addictive and a key
component as to why people struggle to quit smoking. Research
shows that reduced nicotine levels mean smokers ingest
lower levels of nicotine; cigarettes are less addictive, and
as a result people find it easier to quit,” says Ms
Hart.
Ms Hart says the suggestion people will smoke
three or four times as many cigarettes to ingest the same
amount of nicotine is preposterous and not backed by any
scientific evidence.
Ms Hart says research
out of Otago University shows easier access to tobacco
retailers is associated with higher rates of youth smoking,
increased smoking among established smokers, and lower rates
of quitting.
“These same studies show that reducing
the number of places people can buy cigarettes would
significantly benefit Māori, who continue to suffer
disproportionately from the harm caused by tobacco,” says Ms
Hart.
Ms Hart says while quitting smoking is one of
the best things people can do to improve their health, not
starting is even better – and the government’s proposal to
increase the legal age for buying cigarettes and smoked
tobacco products will help to achieve that.
“This is
brave and far-sighted legislation.
“We can’t see any
reason why anyone other than those people who profit from
these products could possibly oppose these new laws. There
is no amount of profit that can excuse the almost 5,000
deaths and many diseases caused by smoking per year in
Aotearoa.
“We do recognise that care must be taken to
ensure that this new legislation and any implementation does
not further harm Māori, ” says Ms Hart.
“We want to
make sure that we do not see Māori disproportionately
charged for offences under this new legislation, as we have
historically seen in other areas. Māori already bear the
brunt of inequity, and we need to ensure this legislation
does not further entrench this. This provides an opportunity
to build networks and strengthen our wider
communities.”
Our politicians in Government have a
legal obligation to first prioritise the inequitable health
outcomes for Māori, who for decades have suffered and
continue to suffer the greatest burden of ill health and
death from tobacco.
“It’s high time opposition
politicians put public health ahead of party politics and
get behind the Smokefree2025
kaupapa.”
© Scoop Media
Discussion about this post