Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Turia: Launch of Tobacco Control Research Turanga

Hon Tariana Turia
Associate Minister of Health
Minister for Disability Issues


Launch of Tobacco Control Research Turanga and WERO Whanau End Smoking Regional Whanau Ora Challenge
Te Whānau o Waipareira, Whānau Centre Health Clinic, Henderson, Auckland

Thursday 26 April 2012; 2.30pm Speech

I want to thank Te Whānau o Waipareira – and in particular this wonderful Whānau Centre Health Clinic – in hosting this launch today.

I am delighted to congratulate Dr Marewa Glover and Associate Professor Chris Bullen – the co-directors of Tūranga- and of course the key change-makers and decision-leaders who are included in this multi-institution, multi-disciplinary network.

And it is great to see Dr Lynne Lane as the Chair of your advisory board – there is a great team gathered here today, of people who have been pioneers of the health promotion cause for so long. I am honoured to be in your company.
This is a brilliant week to be launching the Tobacco Control Research Tūranga as part of the long-term vision of achieving a smokefree Aotearoa by 2025. It has been a week of extremes – of aspirations and allegations, as discussion has raged around tobacco reform.

Just one week ago I announced that Cabinet has agreed, in principle, to introduce a plain packaging regime in alignment with Australia, but this is subject to the outcome of a public consultation process to be undertaken later this year. One might have thought the world had fallen.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Over night the United States Chamber of Commerce joined with a consortium of business groups, telling the New Zealand Government that this ill-advised and arbitrary measure, could have a “possible impact on New Zealand exports such as dairy and wine, should other governments feel emboldened to take similar measures”.

British American Tobacco immediately set up a twitter account to communicate their views on tobacco related matters.

And Imperial Tobacco came out and said there was no evidence that plain packaging will help stamp out smoking.

But it was not all doom and gloom. Because as quick as the attack came, just as quick was the response.

Where there was one twitter account, there now became three – two new accounts reacting and rejecting the tobacco industry claims.

The Prime Minister came out and said, “if we want to have the sovereign right that says if you want to bring cigarettes into New Zealand they have to be plain packaging…I haven’t seen anything yet that tells me our law would prevent us from doing that”.
And Professor Janet Hoek came to the forefront, armed with a range of peer-reviewed scientific journals and overseas research to prove the industry’s claims were plain wrong.

In less than seven days we had a perfect storm of politicians, social media, industry, advocates, lobbyists and academics, fronting up to the challenge of the movement to become smokefree.

But there were two particular stories that gave me great heart and w hich I want to share with us in this very exciting day, as we embrace a significant programme of work to support the goal of reducing smoking prevalence.

Yesterday, breaking news in Taranaki, was the announcement by Taranaki District Health Board that it will ban smoking by staff, patients and visitors on all health board property including mental health facilities by February 2013.
The hospital wasn’t just issuing an ultimatum : they would offer staff help to quit in the form of nicotine patches and information; and upon being admitted patients would be supported to stop them from lighting up.

The general manager Sandra Boardman couched her news with perhaps one of the most radical statements yet – she told the world that she believed people would appreciate hospitals were a place to get well!

The second story was one of a young man visiting my office, who stayed behind to tell me about his journey to become smokefree. For this young man, it was his love and tautoko for his brother that helped him to quit the habit. His brother was a Smokefree Champion. So the young man in my office and his mum set upon a pathway to become smokefree, to support the example his brother had set for the nation

It was a wonderful example of whānau ora in action – each of them standing together, and becoming change makers – a change maker in their community; a change maker in their home.

This was a whanau taking control of their health, and working together to achieve wellbeing.

This then is the foundation from which the New Zealand Tobacco Control Research Tūranga is born.

I see that your overarching goal is to provide innovative research delivering new knowledge to inform policies and practices which will assist in achieving a smokefree New Zealand by 2025.

It is about having a supportive environment for change – the policies and legislation which encourage us to live smokefree lives.

It is about having leadership and leaders – and I want to formally place on record my heartfelt appreciation of the role each of you play across the sector – the Ministry of Health, Health Research Council, the National Institute for Health Innovation, the Centre for Tobacco Control Research, the Cancer Society, Heart Foundation, Smokefree Coalition, Smokefree Pacific Action Network, various DHBS, universities, wānanga, the Enua Ola Churches Programme, and I am sure this list is only a beginning.

It sounds like a lot – and actually that’s exactly what we need to embed the change in our lives.

But perhaps the most important factor of all is the role that our whānau and our families will play in helping their loved ones to quit.

It is whānau who will ultimately have the greatest impact on stopping our children from being tempted to take up a life-long, life-ending addiction.

And so I am utterly delighted to learn about WERO – the Whānau End smoking Regional whānau Ora challenge!

What a fabulous idea.

We are all aware, that no matter how committed we are to the 2025 goal, the greatest challenge will be in achieving dramatic declines in smoking amongst Māori and Pacific.

It is commendable that one of your objectives is to ensure priority populations, in particular Māori and Pasifika people, are well represented and engaged at all levels of the Tūranga.

Furthermore, what you have committed to in the WERO project is to set in motion a transformation amongst our whānau – through the means of a group stop smoking competition.

I was really excited when Marewa shared with me her intentions for this project – it is a pragmatic and principled approach which conceptualises being smokefree as an essential element of Whānau Ora – to be healthy; to be strong; to have aspiration and hope for our future.

We all know that the vision to be smokefree by 2025 is ambitious. But we have will on our side.

And I want to assure you that the government’s commitment to this goal remains resolute.

The partnership forged today grew out of the commitment of the Ministry of Health and the Health Research Council to give life to that goal, to start to prepare the roadmap to get us there.

No one policy; no one politician; no one project will get us to our goal.

But together, collectively, if all us of work together with our whānau very much driving our approach, I am absolutely confident we will achieve our vision.

This is our chance to be innovative, to test and develop new ideas, to focus on success – and to achieve a tupeka kore/tobacco free Aotearoa by 2025.

ENDS


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.