This week a collective of mana whenua, Māori health providers, advocates and community take their concerns about alcohol harm inequities to a symposium held at Middlemore Hospital.
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.
Today leading Māori health and public health organisations called on the Crown to meet its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it drafts legislation for the regulation of cannabis. More than 50 Māori leaders joined the call for Māori rights and interests to be put front and centre of proposed cannabis regulations.
“Our message is clear – we expect cannabis regulations to be designed with and by Māori, under a Te Tiriti o Waitangi framework, and to promote the rights and interests of whānau, hapū and iwi,” said Drug Foundation Chair Tuari Potiki.
This year’s Tariana Turia Award for significant achievement in indigenous tobacco control, presented by Dame Tariana herself, has been awarded to Sue Taylor (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Kahungunu) at the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in Sydney this evening.
Sue Taylor received the award for her extensive and varied work undertaken within tobacco control over many years, from grass roots smoking cessation programmes to political advocacy.
Yesterday a journalist from 1 NEWS published statistics reflecting the sharp decline in tobacco sales since 2016. This information was released to 1 NEWS under the Official Information Act and it is welcome news to the National Tobacco Control Advocacy Coordination Service at Hāpai te Hauora.
The results from the largest randomised trial in the world of e-cigarette use involving Māori has been warmly welcomed by Mihi Blair, Hāpai Te Hauora General Manager of Tobacco Control Advocacy Services.
Long-time Hāpai Te Hauora board member Reverend John Marsden will be made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit on Friday.
"We warmly congratulate this rangatira of Māori health and education," says Selah Hart, CEO of Hāpai.
"John has served on our board for over 12 years. He has made an enormous contribution to his whānau, hapu, iwi and community and we’ve been fortunate in having his guidance and leadership."
Hāpai Te Hauora will formally welcome Selah Hart into her new role as CEO on Friday 6th September.
Hart was appointed to the position in June 2019, after acting as CEO from October 2018. She has a long history of service at Hāpai Te Hauora and was strongly supported by existing and past kaimahi in her appointment.
News reports that vaping is increasingly being used in schools in Auckland is cause for real concern, Hāpai Te Hauora’s CEO Selah Hart said.
"More than ever this highlights the need for the speedy introduction of legislation for vaping," she said, "to ensure that new niche groups don’t take up the practice."
Legislation would restrict the purchase age of buying to 18 years old as well as the point of sale of e-cigarettes and marketing of products to specific age groups.
This morning, the tobacco control sector and community members will be welcomed onto Kōkiri marae to celebrate the launch of the Whakahā o Te Pā Harakeke research programme which aims to help reduce smoking disparities and achieve a Smokefree Aotearoa.
The group was one of only five groups this year to receive a $4.95 million programme grant from the Health Research Council. The programme will work with Māori communities to help eliminate smoking inequities and accelerate progress towards a Smokefree Aotearoa.