Retailers "Insincere And Callous" Pushback On Moves To Reduce The Availability Of Tobacco

Hahe Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act took effect on January 1, 2023. This includes the introduction of regulations which will reduce the availability, appeal and addictiveness of tobacco products.

Retailers have fought against the changes since they were proposed, claiming more time is needed to prepare for the financial consequences, and that they will experience significant hardship if the regulations are introduced.

"This is an insincere and callous position to take, and frankly I’m appalled," says Selah Hart, Chief Executive Officer of Hāpai Te Hauora, the largest Māori public health organisation in Aotearoa. "Retailers have had a decade to prepare for these changes, and I do not accept that further delays, with the loss of 500 whānau each year to tobacco related disease, is worth it."

"As the national tobacco control advocacy service sine 2013, we have seen every trick in the book utilised by vested interests from the biggest tobacco company to the smallest dairy selling cigarettes illegally to children. We cannot allow profit to be prioritised over our people’s health any longer. Our precious tamariki mokopuna deserve a future free from the illnesses that ravaged their parents and grandparents generations, and our health system - already stretched to breaking point - needs our collective effort to reduce the burden from tobacco use."

Leitu Tufuga, Team Lead of the National Tobacco Control Advocacy service for Hāpai Te Hauora reflects on the Smokefree Action Plan consultation in late 2022. "During the public consultations last year, community voices, particularly from Māori and Pasifika, shared their lived experiences about the harm tobacco has had to their families and subsequently the graves they continue to visit because of lives lost to tobacco related disease. There was unanimous support from those most impacted, that we need to significantly reduce tobacco sold in their neighbourhoods in order to see their communities flourish".

Ms. Hart concludes "We encourage anyone with an interest in transforming the health of our communities for the better to have a say at this pivotal moment in our fight against tobacco related disease. We may not have the resources of the tobacco companies, but we can be heard if we demand to be listened to."

The Public Health Agency within Te Manatū Hauora (Ministry of Health) commence targeted consultation with the most impacted population group, Māori, in Whangarei on Thursday 7th February at 7pm and will travel across Aotearoa over the coming month.

A concurrent consultation process for Pasifika communities is occurring across a number of locations led by Tala Pasifika - Pacific Action for Change ( full schedule here) and supported by Hāpai Te Hauora.

Alongside these face to face opportunities to have your voice heard, the online submissions are open until 5pm, 15th March 2023 and all details on the proposed changes can be found here.

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