Quitline Prepares for Busy New Years

/ Media Release


31 December 2011



Quitline Prepares for Busy New Years as Cigarette Prices Rise

With the last of the three tiered increases on tobacco tax coming into effect tomorrow (1 January 2012), Quitline is getting ready for another busy January.

Quitline Chief Executive Paula Snowden said: “January is always our busiest time and with the cost of tobacco rising again we are expecting the whole month to be extremely busy. In January 2011, 9,383 people quit smoking with the help of our phone and online based service. This is almost double the number of people we helped in January 2010.”

To help support smokers wanting to quit in the New Year, the Quitline contact centre will be open on 1 January 2012 from 10am – 8pm. By signing up to Quitline’s website www.quit.org.nz, clients can also access a full quit smoking support programme. They can also order subsidised patches, gum and lozenges online.

Ms. Snowden continued: “The January 2012 tax increase will push the cost of the most popular brand of cigarettes to $13.80 for a pack of 20 and to $31 for a 30g pack of loose tobacco. If somebody quits smoking in January, they will save around $4,500 a year. For a family with one adult smoking one packet a day, it equates to a tank of petrol a week. Over a month it’s an average week’s rent or a car payment –serious money out of the family budget.

“Those who use Quitline support are up to five times more likely to succeed than going it alone. Eighty percent of smokers wished they’d never started smoking and we expect the January tax jump will be a trigger for many to quit.”

Anyone seeking support can call Quitline for free on 0800 778 778 or visit
www.quit.org.nz for online support and to register for Txt2Quit, a free text-based service.
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