To mark the day this year, Hāpai Te Hauora shares what ‘smokefree’ means to the people of Aotearoa. Hāpai is leading a campaign that asks Facebook users, whānau and friends to answer the question "What does smokefree mean to me?"
Hāpai has asked tamariki, rangatahi and whānau as well as health workers and academics to share their stories and opinions.
On the 1st of May the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill was released by Justice Minister Andrew Little. This is the final version of the proposed legislation which will be put to voters at the 2020 general election in the form of a referendum.
Hāpai Te Hauora welcomes new research from Otago University which shows plain packaging has taken the appeal out of cigarette packets. The researchers says the study shows that making cigarette packaging standard in New Zealand in 2018 has hit the policy target, which was to make tobacco products less appealing and to make health warnings on cigarette packs more obvious.
Tobacco prices are set to go up by just over 11 per cent on January 1, in the last of a series of annual tax-based price rises announced in the 2016 budget. A 25-pack of cigarettes will cost more than $40.
Today Hāpai Te Hauora’s Māori Public Health Team launches "Tobacco is Not Our whakapapa" a series of video clips which seeks to re-center whakapapa in the narrative of tobacco harm minimisation.
Associate Minister Jenny Salesa today announced that the New Zealand-specific "Vaping Facts" website is now live. Wairehu or vaping products are being touted as one avenue to helping Aotearoa reach its ambitious target of being smokefree by 2025. The intention of the site is to offer key facts about wairehu, information on wairehu versus smoking and contextualise wairehu as a tool to quit smoking.
Hāpai te Hauora supports wairehu as a tool to stop smoking. Hāpai National Manager for Tobacco Control, Mihi Blair, was a member of the “Vaping Facts” website advisory board and says “Those who quit cigarettes have diverse experiences and needs. We need to be supporting whānau by providing access to the most effective options available”.
Gambling Harm Awareness Week (GHAW) kicks off today, providing an opportunity for increased awareness of problem gambling in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hāpai Te Hauora calls for tobacco tax to be reinvested into protecting communities, not cigarettes.
Māori Party Co-Leader Marama Fox and Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner announced today that the Government has confirmed its commitment to standardised packaging of tobacco products, with roll out scheduled from 14 March 2018.