Governor-General Becomes First Quitline Patron

Governor-General Becomes First Quitline Patron

The Quit Group, which runs the national stop smoking service Quitline, is pleased to announce that His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand has become the organisation’s inaugural patron.

Governor-General, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, said he was looking forward to working with the Quit Group: “The Quit Group has a vision of a smokefree Aotearoa and I am keen to support the services it provides to enable more New Zealand smokers to quit and to quit for life. While I am pleased to be the organisation’s inaugural vice-regal patron, in keeping with the Quit Group’s vision, I too look forward to a day when it no longer needs a patron because New Zealand will be a smokefree nation.”

The Quit Group’s Chairperson, Annette Milligan said: “This is the first time that we have had a patron and the whole organisation is extremely excited about the news. His Excellency is the nephew of Edith Rerekura and Wira Kerei both of whom are long term employees of Quitline which makes it even more special. It is particularly pleasing to have someone of such stature support our smokefree kaupapa and we look forward to working with His Excellency.”

Funded by the Ministry of Health, Quitline operates a national smoking cessation service. Anyone seeking support can call the Quitline for free on 0800 778 778 or visit www.quit.org.nz to access online support, the online blog community and to register for Txt2Quit, a free text-based service. Quitline can also put callers who request face-to-face support in contact with relevant service providers.

ENDS

© Scoop Media