Maori Health Org Speaks From the Heart On Tobacco

Maori Health Organisation Speaks From the Heart About Tobacco
Embargoed to 4pm, Thursday 11 March

Stories of lives torn apart by tobacco took centre stage today at the Maori Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into the tobacco industry and the consequences of tobacco use for Maori.

Te Hotu Manawa Maori (THMM) Executive Director Moana Tane shared with the Committee stories of Maori women and their whanau who have experienced grief and hardship because of tobacco.

They included Te Hotu Manawa Maori’s own Hiria Minnell-Rolleston, whose mother was diagnosed with lung cancer when Hiria was only eight. Tekau-ma-rua Ashby’s story is another told by Te Hotu Manawa Maori, that exemplifies rural life for many Maori, and the “normal” practice of many rural youth taking up smoking while very young.

Moana Tane told the Committee that smoking had prematurely taken the lives of tens of thousands of Maori.

“We have lost so much knowledge, wisdom and experience and such loss can never be recovered.

“Te Hotu Manawa Maori trains a mainly Maori workforce to help Maori smokers and whanau to quit and to stay Auahi Kore. We see first-hand the devastation brought about by smoking related diseases, and the burden of premature deaths for whanau.

“Nearly 50 percent of Maori women smoke and they have the highest rates of lung cancer in the world. As the bearers of future generations, women are the backbone of whanau – but if they smoke, then they represent the greatest risk to our future, by exposing our tamariki to smoke."

Ms Tane said THMM supported the Smokefree Coalition’s vision for a tobacco-free Aotearoa by 2020. The vision recommends a timeline of strategic measures to eliminate demand for tobacco, while regulating its supply, and continuing to support smokers to quit.

“We want our tamariki to be free from exposure to this deadly product. We recommend a ban on the retail display of tobacco, and a price hike to motivate more of our whanau to quit. As well, we believe that revenue from tax increases should be dedicated for Maori cessation services and promotion of an Auahi Kore tobacco-free lifestyle.

“These measures are urgent, not just for Maori, but for all New Zealanders.”

The strategy document Achieving the Vision is available on the Smokefree Coalition website, http://www.sfc.org.nz/thevision.php.

ENDS