A Māori tobacco control researcher says becoming a finalist for New Zealander of the Year is a great way to get the kaupapa more widely understood.
Marewa Glover is up against Eat My Lunch founder Lisa King and mental health campaigner Mike King for the Kiwibank-sponsored award.
She started her mahi 25 years ago while working for the Public Health Commission, when she was advised a focus on smoking would have the maximum impact on Māori health.
Dr Glover says the main obstacles have come not from the tobacco industry but from other researchers who want to lead the debate or object to her championing of kaupapa Māori solutions.
"You can annoy people, especially the dominant way things are done. When you challenge that you really put yourself at risk but you just have to keep going. I tell myself when I wake up in the morning, 'people are dying.' No matter how bad things get for me or what the haters do, it is not about me. There are people dying out there. That's what keeps me going," she says.
The 2019 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year will be announced at the awards gala in Auckland on February 13.
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