April 15, 2021
Smokefree 2025 -The time for consultation has passed. Its time to move
SMOKEFREE 2025 – The time for consultation has passed. It’s time to move
“Smokefree 2025 won’t happen unless government sets clear targets and spends the money to achieve those targets” said Hone Harawira who led the stop smoking campaign in parliament that gave rise to the 2025 target.
“The Minister is hailing the current campaign as ‘bold’, but ‘belated’ and ‘behind schedule’ is probably a more apt description”.
“We should have seen the funding allocation to control and eliminate tobacco in Aotearoa, go from 2% to 50% over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, it’s only gone from 2% to 3% while government rakes in nearly $2 billion every year in tobacco taxes and spends it mostly on everything else but tobacco control.
“We should have put Māori at the helm a long time ago and given them licence to design campaigns that worked for the most vulnerable populations”
We should have started an annual increase in the spend on cessation, rehabilitation, media campaigns and innovation years ago.
“We should have started a campaign to reduce nicotine, reducing cigarette flavouring and filters 10 years ago. “
“We should have already had a list of all retailers, and started a campaign to reduce points of sale every year until we were down to a shortlist of regulated outlets where tobacco products could be sold.
“And of course, we should be charging a million dollars for every NZ citizen that dies from smoking, and forcing Big Tobacco to decide whether it’s worth them being here or whether they should just pack up and piss off.”
“There’s some wonderful pronouncements in the government’s proposals released earlier today, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to refocus on Smokefree 2025. I think the Minister has done well to release the proposals for consultation, and I hope she follows through with a re-building of the sector with more funding, to enable a more innovative and courageous approach.
But the truth is that the consultation was done years ago. The time now is for action to back her plans up with deadlines and penalties.
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