As Team Leader Leader at ProCare, MIKE POCKLINGTON mentors stop-smoking practitioners. He tells us how quitting his habit, years in education and a Māori world-view have shaped his work.
Ko Whiria te maunga
Ko Hokianga Whakapau Karakia te moana
Ko Ngātitokimatawhaorua te waka
Ko Ngāti Korokoro te hapū
Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi
I was a smoker - a secret smoker. As a school principal I was expected to uphold good practices and my family wore that; my hidden addiction. I had a pack a day habit; 70 dollars per week which was a lot back then before [tobacco] tax. I’d make sure to get it in before and after school. Although I tried to quit, I had the intention but not the plan, and it wasn’t until I had a vision for being smoke-free -- how I’d do it -- and created incentives through money saved, that I really succeeded.
I still remember going into the tackle shop in Whangarei and handing over the 220 dollars I’d saved that month on cigarettes for a Shimano Baitrunner 6500 reel. What a feeling! My family went from marge to butter, luncheon sausage to ham, white bread to Vogel’s. By the end of the year I had a tinny and an outboard motor.
I have a background in education as a teacher and a principal for many years in Te Tai Tokerau in Whangaroa, Te Kao and Whananaki. This work transitioned into prisons where we managed education to teach young people to achieve NCEA level 1 and 2. Surprisingly, I learnt there that if you could shift the limiting beliefs of those you supported from “I’m dumb, I’m not going to succeed”, they’d accelerate much quicker, in fact, quicker than most of my high schoolers, because they brought with them the life skills and experience to apply to their learning.
I’ve been working in smoking cessation for a few years now, but much of what I’ve gained in education I bring to this work; the ability to get to know someone as a person first, see their strengths and take the wins. Being Māori also helps. Bringing our values that we have as Māori goes a long way.
Could you elaborate on that?
Well I’ve lived in a Māori world, immersed with Māori practices, history, traditions so I know the importance of whakapapa, manaakitanga and tikanga. So when it came to engaging with Māori, it was comfortable, it was natural, ya know? You come into their house and it’s Kia ora!, they tell you their name and it’s “Oh, are you the Murrays from Ahipara?”, that sort of thing; building connections and whakawhanaungatanga. I find it satisfying and fun, and that’s important when helping someone quit - they want someone they can relate to.
Do you think you have to be Māori to work with Māori?
It is more difficult to work with Māori if you are not Māori, because the system has been so tough for us to operate and we’ve been only engaging with non-Māori, so there’s not much faith. So it’s a familiar face -- kanohi kitea -- and a sense of understanding. And going into homes that lack wealth but they don’t lack the intangibles around love and whānau, if you go in with a lens of deficit… they’re going to sense that.
I recognise the toll smoking has had on Māori. Going to marae, going to look at walls of whare and how many have lost lives in their forties and fifties, and then recognising they were smokers. So when someone quits who’s Māori, there’s a real sense of accomplishment in knowing I’m not going to see them on the walls.
Which brings us nicely to your new role. Are you still going to be able to work with whānau?
Yeah, so we’ve had the opportunity to restructure our group so I’ll be leading the team half of the time but also practicing in the community the rest of the time. It means I can still do what I love, especially in working with Māori, but then there’s someone who’s able to support other practitioners so we can develop best practice and team improvements together. Plus it doesn’t feel like I’m ‘managing’, it feels like I’m leading from experience and skills I’ve acquired over time, especially with schools and prisons; a lot of empowering and encouraging not just the whānau but the wider eco-system that supports them.
I’ve heard you get some pretty good results for your work and have won a few awards for it. What do you think is different about your practice?
Well I’m self-reflecting. I’m always analysing my performance on a daily basis, looking at when I succeeded and why. When I haven’t, I try not to blame but look for ways I could improve my own practice. If a client didn’t show up, I try to ask What could I have done differently? I think this something I can teach to others, even those outside our organisation. If you’re successful in helping whānau quit but holding that knowledge, are you really helping whānau or yourself?
At a recent conference you questioned how long it could take for our country to become smoke-free. What do you think we should be prioritising?
Well people are expecting drastic change to boost progress so we have to figure out where we’ll make the most gains as a country. Just like I said about helping any whānau member to quit smoking, they won’t succeed unless they are prepared with a plan, and the same applies to our country; we have a goal to quit, but where’s the plan? I think we need to be more restrictive in where we sell, especially dairies and alcohol stores.
I remember working in the prisons when they went smoke-free. All the tutors were panicked about riots and about the violence. July 1st came and went and nothing happened. They removed access but more often than not, people aren’t motivated to go out of their way to get something. We also have to have faith that we are strong enough to do it.
Mike Pocklington was interviewed for Hāpai Te Hauora by Lizzie Strickett.
To connect with Mike, email mike.pocklington@readysteadyquit.org.nz
