Combat the habit with help
A group from Pinnacle Midlands Health Network pounded the pavement in Hamilton to help residents kick smoking to the curb.
Puamaria Maaka is the project lead of Once and For All, a new quit smoking service available in the Waikato.
The programme offers intensive behavioural support for smokers with a dedicated quit coach.
To mark World Smokefree Day, Maaka and her team talked to smokers on the streets of Hamilton.
‘‘We had many and varied conversations with lots of smokers,’’ she said.
They also acquired more than 40 enrolments to the Once and For All programme.
Maaka was a ‘‘pack-a-day’’ smoker for 20 years. All the pictures in the world of rotting teeth and black lungs had no impact on her, she said, until she read a book called Easy Way to Give Up Smoking.
‘‘Like lots of smokers, you flirt with the idea of quitting for a long time and it’s hard.
‘‘What I realised was I had an addiction, and that didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t want to be addicted to anything.’’
In the Waikato region there are 43,700 smokers aged 15 years and over, accounting for 15.5 per cent of the population.
The Ministry of Health has set a target of a smokefree New Zealand by 2025.
Maaka says she has to believe that goal is possible.
‘‘There are a lot of people that are committed to that vision, and wouldn’t it be great to be the first smokefree nation in the entire world? And why wouldn’t we be?
‘‘Smoking has been such a norm in our society for such a long time and we have not emphasised that it’s a health issue.
‘‘I’m really keen to get it out there that what we’re dealing with is a health issue.’’
Once and For All kicked off in October 2016 and is one of 16 providers lending their efforts towards the 2025 vision.
It is available for free at GP practices and health providers in the Waikato.
Smokers can sign up to the Once and For All programme online, through their GP or community health provider or by phone.
Visit onceandforall.co.nz or phone 0800 6623 4522.