Shane Bradbrook honoured for tobacco control role

Media release
12 October 2009

Shane Bradbrook honoured for role in tobacco control

Director of Te Reo Marama Shane Bradbrook received international recognition for his contribution to tobacco control, when he was presented with Nigel Gray Award at the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in Darwin last Friday.

The award recognises an individual’s contributions to tobacco control, with a bias towards relatively ‘unsung heros’. Judges considered depth of achievement at local and regional levels, and achievements at national and international levels. People working in tobacco control in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, the Pacific Islands, and Papua New Guinea were eligible for nomination. Criteria included:

• creativity,
• persistence,
• effectiveness,
• contributions to change,
• skill in application or generation of evidence and argument for tobacco control.

Shane Bradbrook is a veteran of the tobacco control sector in New Zealand. As Director of Te Reo Marama Mr. Bradbrook has been at the forefront of Maori work in Smokefree initiatives.

“Even though rates are trending downwards almost fifty per cent of Maori smoke. Rates for Maori women are especially high and most continue to smoke during pregnancy,” Shane Bradbrook said.

“Work within the sector has tended to focus on supporting Maori smokers to quit. Our approach has been slightly different. We have focused on the role that the tobacco industry plays. Tobacco companies are licensed to sell a product that kills many Maori.

“Rather than saying to Maori ‘you need to stop smoking’, we have raised awareness about the agenda of the tobacco companies who are not concerned with Maori health. They want to make a profit and are not worried about killing people in the process. In fact they believe that this is their right.”

Te Reo Marama has developed a number of provocative communications campaigns that carry this message. The latest features large cigarette packets which carry the brand “Maori Killers”.

“The campaign is designed to shock our people into quitting and make them realize what motivates tobacco companies.”

In 2005 a New Zealander living in Israel e-mailed Maori working in the Smoke-free area, concerned about a new line of cigarettes being marketed by American tobacco company Philip Morris. She explained in her e-mail that the packaging featured Maori designs. While she was a smoker herself, she was concerned about the way that Philip Morris was aligning Maori with a tobacco product.

In 2007 Shane Bradbrook traveled to the United States, to challenge Philip Morris about their appropriation of Maori imagery to sell cigarettes. In an unprecedented move Philip Morris apologized for the move. The story was covered by media around the world.

“The Maori Mix issue was a career highlight because it was direct confrontation with a multi-national tobacco company, and the publicity that followed highlighted the impact that tobacco has on Maori health.”

Shane is currently on the international boards of the Framework Convention Alliance (Switzerland) and the Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Tobacco Control (Melbourne). He is also on the Executive Committee of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health.

ENDS

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