Dairy highlights health with tobaccofree day
SMOKERS who get their cigarette fix from Rob Roy Dairy will have an extra incentive to quit the habit today: the store is going tobaccofree for 24 hours.
The initiative, a collaboration between dairy owner Liz Watson and the Smokefree Otago Coalition, is designed to raise awareness of the Ministry of Health’s ‘‘Smokefree by 2025’’ target.
Several retailers around the country are stopping selling tobacco products for the day
Rob Roy, in Dunedin, is believed to be the sole southern representative in what organisers hope will grow to become a widespread national event.
‘‘This will hopefully generate a movement. We are keen to hear from other retailers who sell tobacco who might be interested in taking part,’’ coalition representative Catherine Thomas said.
‘‘I know a lot of people at university and I know the Rob Roy is one of those places they would go if they were stressed during exam time to get cigarettes.’’
Ms Thomas, as a former employee of the dairy, should know.
Her former boss, Ms Watson, said she had to give some thought to the idea when Ms Thomas approached her about a smokefree day, as tobacco products comprised a significant percentage of sales for small retailers such as herself.
‘‘I’m a business owner. It is something that people do want to buy, and it is a service I provide,’’ she said.
Ms Watson, who stopped smoking about 30 years ago when cigarettes reached $3 a packet, said regular tobacco price rises had resulted in a decline in trade, although it was still an important element of her business.
While economic pragmatism meant tobacco stayed on her shelves for now, Ms Watson was happy to take part in the smokefree promotion
‘‘I think if everybody in my position, small businesses, couldn’t sell them, if the Government made it so you could only buy them in R18 shops or somewhere, I would be happy with that.
‘‘But I need to be aware that other people around me sell them and I need to bring customers in.’’
About 15% of New Zealanders smoke which, although well down on historical smoking levels, still comprises a significant health risk.
The Government’s aim is for less than 5% of New Zealanders to be smokers by 2025.