May 23, 2019
Wahine safe space to quit smoking
Smoking cessation service Ready Steady Quit is running a series of Ready Steady Wahine sessions to help Māori women tackle the problems.
Quit smoking practitioner Charlene Parsons says the service wants to build a community of wahine who can empower each other to stop smoking.
She says Māori women have multiple stresses in their lives, and it’s good to create a non-judgmental space for them to talk their way through their problems.
That’s especially true of pregnant women, who face extreme stigma if they smoke.
"They are hiding. There is no real safe place for them to be and if we can give them some education and along the way some incentives and some real support that is about them. We don't go into a home and say 'you need to do this.' We go into a home and give them some options and they will make some decisions and they have someone that is backing them. We’re their cheerleaders," Ms Parsons says.
The next Ready Steady Wahine session will be in July, and Ready Steady Quit also offers a personal one-on-one quit smoking service for anyone who lives, works or studies in north, west or central Auckland.
To find out about the service for yourself, whanau and friends visitwww.readysteadyquit.org.nz.
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