Reduce Tobacco Supply to Save Lives

22 October 2013

Reduce Tobacco Supply to Save Lives

Tomorrow (23rd October) Cancer Society Auckland and Te Ara Hā Ora National Māori Tobacco Control Leadership Service are hosting an international forum on reducing tobacco supply.

“Today we have little control over the sale and supply of tobacco, a product that kills more than half of its users’, says John Loof, Cancer Society Auckland’s Chief Executive.

For the first time in New Zealand, supply will be the sole focus as experts from New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific explore effective and feasible ways for local and central government to reduce tobacco supply. “The shared objective of the forum is that it will lead to a movement for increased restrictions on tobacco supply, to reduce the number of children who start smoking and support people to quit”, says Loof.

Extensive research from across the region has found that when cigarettes are readily accessible in communities, children are more likely to experiment with smoking , and that 76% of schools across New Zealand are located less than a ten minutes’ walk from one or more tobacco retailers.

“Cancer Society want to see a reduction in the availability of cigarettes in our communities, to help prevent thousands of children starting every year, and support smokers to quit” says Loof. “This will also help to reduce the 5,000 deaths from smoking each year and achieve a Smokefree New Zealand by 2025”

Tobacco when compared to other harmful products such as alcohol & pharmaceuticals has very little supply regulations. Currently anyone can sell tobacco in New Zealand anywhere. There is no requirement to be licensed, or even registered.

“Māori communities, more than any other community are saturated with cigarette jam-packed corner dairies” says Zoe Hawke, Kaiwhakahaere, Te Ara Hā Ora National Māori Tobacco Control Leadership Service. “We want to see community environments designed to support whānau to quit smoking. Limiting numbers of neighbourhood diaries selling tobacco, coupled with cessation support is the logical next step”.

Public support less tobacco being available in their communities says Loof, “Recent public opinion research found that 62%of Aucklanders wanted less cigarette outlets in their community, and a national study showed even higher support at 70%.

Focusing on tobacco supply is a key step to meeting the Smokefree 2025 goal says Loof. “The national target for NZ to be Smokefree by 2025 is an incredibly important goal for the health of our population yet the data indicates smoking rates are not declining fast enough. Having imposed restrictions on tobacco marketing and promotion as well as raising excise taxes, it makes perfect sense to now consider restrictions on when and where tobacco products can be sold”.

ENDS

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