Nurses celebrate Government decision to make NZ smokefree .

AUT University - Smokefree Nurses Aotearoa/New Zealand

17 March 2011

Nurses celebrate Government decision to make NZ smokefree by 2025

AUT University’s Smokefree Nurses association is celebrating the government’s groundbreaking decision to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025. The decision is a result of a Maori Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into the tobacco industry, which was announced earlier this week.

“This couldn’t come at a better time,” says Grace Wong, senior lecturer in Nursing at AUT University and director of Smokefree Nurses Aotearoa/New Zealand. “Nurses are looking forward to seeing fewer people and family members suffering the terrible consequences of smoking.”

The new policy means that smoking will become a thing of the past, however more control on the supply of cigarettes is vital in order to ensure that smoking remains history, says Wong.

“Measures like plain packaging and banning tobacco product retail displays will make smoking less attractive to children. Banning smoking in cars will need to become law in order to protect passengers from the dangers of second-hand smoke. Non-legislative options will not be enough.”

Wong says that one of the best things about the new policy is that government should provide additional help for smokers to quit.

“Quitting smoking doesn’t have to be hell. Thousands of nurses are trained to help smokers to quit. Nurses recognise that quitting is hard and they want to help smokers take ownership of their journey to being smokefree.”

AUT’s Smokefree Nurses Aotearoa/New Zealand was established in 2007 to support nurses to actively help smokers quit. Community nurses throughout New Zealand can provide specialist advice and treatment to anyone who smokes, says Wong.

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