Calls for smoking crackdown

A cigarette price-hike might be what it takes to get Manawatu¯ ’s smokers to quit, a health advocate says.

An advocacy group has called on the Manawatu¯ District Council to crack down on lighting up in public spaces, but mayor Helen Worboys believes officials are already doing enough.

With the goal of making New Zealand smokefree by 2025, the group, made up of representatives from Midcentral District Health Board, the Heart Foundation and the Cancer Foundation, aims to ‘‘denormalise’’ smoking by limiting its occurrence in public places and the number of stores that sell cigarettes.

Sixteen per cent of the Manawatu¯ District’s population are smokers, edging just over the national average of 15 per cent. Most concerning however, was the number of young people who have taken up the habit, with more than 27 per cent of those aged 18-25 counting themselves as smokers.

The national average for that age group is about 20 per cent.

Efforts to curb teen smoking needed to go beyond raising the minimum age, Cancer Society Manawatu¯ advocate Kerry Hocquard said. The most influential tool policymakers had was excise taxes that raised the price of cigarettes, she said.

Earlier this year, the Palmerston North City Council toughened up its smoking rules for outdoor areas. Businesses with tables and chairs on the city footpaths are now required to display smokefree signage and not provide ashtrays.

Hocquard wanted to see similar laws implemented in neighbouring districts. This would create ‘‘social encouragement’’, and cigarettes would no longer be common items in the shopping trolley, she said.

Worboys said councillors would discuss the topic in a workshop, but increasing the council’s involvement was not a high priority. Its role was to support Midcentral and the Government, but not drive their initiatives, she said.

The council has smokefree signage at all its parks, playgrounds, and council-owned facilities. ‘‘We certainly support what their goals and aims are. While we all think it’s admirable, how do we go about it? What role does council play?

‘‘I personally agree we shouldn’t have people smoking outside cafes, but I don’t see that happening anyway ... and how would we police it if we were to do something?’’

Hocquard said there was ‘‘strong community support’’ for smokefree environments and would like the council to create a working group.

It would develop smokefree initiatives, such as signage, promotion of World Smokefree Day and recommend changes to policies about outdoor dining, she said.

Hocquard said smoking could have a ‘‘cruel hold’’ on young people.

‘‘This seems to be a group that’s left school, they’re not living at home. We know smoking is a real addiction and it’s hard for people to give up.

‘‘If we can stop cigarettes being seen as a common grocery item then that will help. Smoking doesn’t have to be part of normal behaviour.’’

Statistics were particularly high among Ma¯ori women, with more than 30 per cent of those in Manawatu¯ smokers.

‘‘That’s the parents of the next generation that could have their lives cut short by smoking. It’s all of us working together.’’