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Tobacco use declining in NZ News  

Tobacco use is declining according to a new survey that says just under one quarter of New Zealanders are smokers.

The 2008 New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey showed, after adjusting for age, 23.9 percent of adults aged 15 to 64 smoked.

The 2006 figure was 24.3 percent.

Ministry of Health national director of tobacco control Ashley Bloomfield said while the drop was not statistically significant it confirmed a downward trend

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ASH Call For Tobacco Display Ban To Speed Smoking Decrease  

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is repeating calls for retail displays of tobacco in dairies, supermarkets and service stations to be removed to prevent youth from starting smoking.

ASH communications manager Michael Colhoun said removing the tobacco displays would bring future gains in the form of a drop in numbers of young smokers.

"Smoking rates have declined since smoking has been removed from pubs and bars, however that change was over four years ago now. We need to continue with measures that will see a drop in the smoking rate. It is time to step up to the next level and remove tobacco displays," said Mr Colhoun.

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Smokers a dying breed, study shows 

Tobacco use is declining according to a new survey that says just under one quarter of New Zealanders are smokers.

The 2008 New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey showed, after adjusting for age, 23.9 percent of adults aged 15 to 64 smoked.

The 2006 figure was 24.3 percent.

Ministry of Health national director of tobacco control Ashley Bloomfield said while the drop was not statistically significant it confirmed a downward trend in smoking.

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$2000 fines after airport check finds tobacco, pills  

A Cheviot sickness beneficiary's attempt to bring cheap pain pills, cigarettes and tobacco into New Zealand has led to fines totalling $2000.

Mark William Millin, 43, suffered from a lower back injury, his counsel Jonathan McCarthy told the Christchurch District Court at the sentencing session today.

Judge David Holderness told Mr McCarthy a deferred sentence was an unrealistic option for the charges brought by police and customs.

Millin had admitted evading duty when he brought in 22 cartons of cigarettes and 900g of tobacco from Thailand.

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• Smoking stigma turns teens off marijuana  

Changing attitudes to cigarette smoking are being linked to a reduction in the number of teenagers smoking cannabis, drug experts say.

An Auckland University student health and wellbeing survey released this week found a considerable drop in the rates of cigarette and cannabis use, which the Drug Foundation believed is linked to anti-smoking campaigns. . . .

He believed New Zealand's long-running anti-smoking campaign, focusing on how smoking damages the lungs, had influenced teens' perception of all forms of smoking.

"Young people are transferring the view that smoking is bad for you to anything they smoke, whether it's pot or tobacco."

European drug experts have also made the link. Britain's The Guardian reported last month that smoking bans meant it had become less socially acceptable to smoke cigarettes, and marijuana joints, in public.

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Drop in students smoking, survey shows News  

Fewer students are smoking cigarettes compared to previous years, according to a survey by Auckland University.

The university's adolescent health research group on youth smoking surveyed over 9500 students from over 100 randomly selected secondary schools from around the country about their health and wellbeing.

Only 8 percent of students report smoking cigarettes weekly or more often in 2007 compared to 16 percent in 2001.

Fewer students had ever tried smoking cigarettes -- down from 52 percent in 2001 to 32 percent in 2007.

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British Smoking Bans Welcomed By Kiwi Groups 

Health groups welcome UK move on tobacco displays and urge NZ to follow Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the Cancer Society of New Zealand welcomed the announcement tobacco displays are to be banned in England and Wales. The consultation by the British Government found 84 percent of more than 100,000 responses backed the display ban. ASH director, Ben Youdan welcomed the ban and urged for a similar measure for New Zealand.

"The majority of New Zealanders, including smokers, want tobacco out of sight in shops. 59% of New Zealand smokers support removing tobacco displays, and 67% of all New Zealanders back a total ban" said Mr Youdan. In 2001 Iceland was the world's first country to remove displays, later joined by Thailand, Tasmania, the British Virgin Islands, and all but one Canadian province. Ireland and New South Wales have passed laws to remove displays next year. . . .

“The Cancer Society sees the removal of tobacco displays from shops as a key step in protecting Kiwi kids from tobacco marketing. We are now seeing the UK move to protect its children, but our children will continue to be exposed. The government needs to be aware of the strength of public opinion supporting this measure," said Belinda Keenan, Cancer Society tobacco control advisor.

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Push for ban on smoking in cars 

STUBBING IT OUT: Researchers are calling for a ban on smoking in cars after finding widespread support both here and overseas.

Researchers are calling for a ban on smoking in cars after finding widespread support both here and overseas.

A review of studies across Britain, North America and Australasia found strong backing for such a ban.

In four recent surveys there was more than 90 per cent support for banning smoking in vehicles with children inside.

Otago University Health researchers George Thomson and Nick Wilson, who conducted the review, said anti-smoking advertising in New Zealand had to be backed up by law.

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Ash warns of dangers of smoking in cars  

Smoking in cars can not only increase the risk from second hand smoke, the distractions can also cause fatal accidents, says anti smoking lobby group ASH.

The group said it welcomed recent findings on views about banning smoking in cars from the University of Otago's Wellington School of Medicine.

The study reviewed 15 research studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand .

It found 96 percent of smokers supported a ban on smoking in vehicles containing pre-schoolers.

ASH director Ben Youdan said the growing level of public support showed a rising awareness amongst the public of the dangers of second-hand smoke.

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Kiwis Need Psychological Help To Quit Smoking 

Kiwis wanting to quit smoking need psychological support according to a leading smoking cessation expert.

Dr Hayden McRobbie, a Senior Lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology, and Smoking Cessation Specialist says that psychological encouragement is the key to helping a smoker quit permanently.

In New Zealand there are 5,000* deaths caused by smoking-related diseases every year - while many smokers are determined to stop Dr McRobbie says most are ill-prepared.

Dr McRobbie says most smokers try the 'cold turkey' approach which is actually associated with the lowest chances of quitting long-term.

"Stopping smoking can be difficult for some people and many don't last even a few days when they quit on their own. During the quitting process people often forget the reasons why they wanted to quit - reminding them of these reasons can motivate people to stay stopped", he says.

Dr McRobbie says the chances of quitting permanently are increased 300% if a smoker seeks the best treatment - a combination of medicine and psychological support.

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Smokers show support for ban  

New research out on Friday shows strong support from smokers for a ban on lighting up in cars carrying small children.

Ninety-six percent of smokers support a ban on smoking in vehicles.

The study, undertaken by representatives from Otago University's Wellington campus, has prompted researchers to urge a re-think by politicians about introducing a law on the issue.

Lead author George Thomson says politicians and officials had in the past been hesitant about proposing such a ban, assuming public opinion would be divided.

"Smokers have been considered particularly likely to be opposed to a smokefree car law," Thomson says.

But he says such bans already existed in Australian states, Canadian provinces and states in the United States, and the latest study - involving nearly 1400 people - indicates high public support in New Zealand.

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Rethink on smoking-in-cars law urged 

Smoking in a car containing young children is unlikely to be banned despite a study showing 96 per cent of smokers support such a move.

The Otago University study of more than 1400 people has prompted researchers to urge a rethink by politicians on introducing a law on the issue.

However, the Government says legislation is not on the cards, while National says it is has not discussed such a move.

Some Australian states have introduced a ban, enforced by police, on smoking in a car with a young child present. It is also law in some parts of Canada and the United States.

The lead author of the Otago study, George Thomson, said politicians and officials had in the past been hesitant about proposing such a ban, assuming public opinion would be divided.

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Teens enlist council help in cigarette ban  

Two teenagers have helped to persuade Gisborne district councillors to throw their weight behind banning cigarette displays in shops.

Gisborne has one of the highest levels of child smokers in New Zealand, with 19 per cent of children admitting to lighting up regularly.

Rory McCourt, 16, and Nathanial Ratapu, 17, who have been helping the Cancer Society with its campaign to have cigarettes banished from display in shops, told councillors last week their community wanted to be free of cigarette advertising.

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Loophole allows cigarette advertising outside shops 

A legal loophole means some shops selling cigarettes are able to flout the spirit of the Smokefree Environments Act, says the Smoke Free Coalition.

One such shop is San's Cigarettes For Less in Wellington's Manners St. It is able to advertise cigarettes on outside signage because it is registered as a company under that name.

Smokefree Coalition director Mark Peck said he had complained about the name of the shop to the Health Ministry, which is investigating.

The Smokefree Environments Act 1990 prohibits advertising of tobacco products by retailers, except inside a shop.

However, a retailer's name or trade name can be displayed outside, even when it acts as an advertisement for tobacco products, so long as it does not name any brands.

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• Baby burned by cigarette in 'freak accident'  

A Hamilton baby bears the scars of a discarded cigarette flicked into his car seat by a passing motorist.

Four-month-old Talyn was burned on his right thigh after a a cigarette butt was flicked out of a car window into the open front window of another car and into Talyn's lap. Both rear windows were up.

Talyn's dad, Tom Miers, was driving along Peachgrove Rd two weeks ago when his son started screaming. . . .

"I am furious no one can be held accountable and would really appreciate any help in getting this ignorant person to realise what they have done."

Ms Winmill said it was the first time Mr Miers had taken Talyn out by himself.

"He hasn't taken him out since. What happened scared him."

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