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“Currently
we have 12 cigarette funerals daily: by 2030: this can be reduced to one
per day”, says End Smoking NZ (formerly SmokeLess
New Zealand) chair Dr Murray Laugesen.
Current smoking control policies cannot deliver such a result for
another century, but the policies we detail on our website www.endsmoking.org.nz can,
he says.
End Smoking NZ, a
charitable trust, aims for near
zero smoking prevalence, by promoting a new deal for smokers. Smokers
unwilling or unable to stop smoking, will be able to switch to a
nicotine-friendly but smokeless lifestyle, free of lung cancer and
emphysema. In addition, gradually reducing the nicotine of cigarettes
will make it easier for smokers to switch to smokeless nicotine, or
to quit tobacco altogether. With safer choices for smokers in place,
fewer will smoke and a law to end sales could put cigarettes out of
the reach of children within ten years.
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“Now
that pubs are smokefree, it is time
to do more for smokers, and provide them with safer ways to self-dose
with nicotine.” “It is only the smoke that kills, not
nicotine. The new policies we advocate will save thousands of lives,
and billions of dollars annually”, he said.
Trustees
include a former Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) director (Trish
Fraser) and medical school professors Dr Ross McCormick, and Sir John
Scott and Dr Marewa Glover of University of Auckland.
According
to a 2006 TV3 poll, 52% of the public already support an end to
cigarette sales, far more than the 28% who supported smokefree
bars in 2000.
SmokeLess welcomes the leadership
of the Maori Party in pushing for a sales ban. “Going on our experience with
the smokefree bars bill, if a private
member’s bill reaches the Select Committee, all stakeholders
have their say, and a strong bill will emerge. Black markets will not flourish if
smokers can legally buy an affordable nicotine fix,” Dr Laugesen says.
End Smoking NZ is concerned to provide a better deal
for those addicted to nicotine who are unable or unwilling to quit
smoking, who feel existing options do not meet their needs.
End Smoking will support
1.
Research and market access for more
effective smokeless nicotine products as alternatives to cigarettes
(in addition to patch and gum).
2.
Reduction in the nicotine content of
cigarettes to make it easier for smokers to quit smoking
3.
Increased tax rates for cigarettes and
cigarette tobacco, lower rates for smokeless tobacco, zero for pure
nicotine, in line with the death risks of each product type.
4.
Finally, a ban on cigarette sales, once the
above policies have lowered smoking prevalence sufficiently, will be
needed to lock in the gains made.. This may take five
to ten years. Smoking itself would remain legal, as would growing
tobacco for personal use.
End Smoking NZ wants a faster reduction in the number of
adults smoking, supports what is already being done by government and
other health groups, and wants to see a doubling of quit
advertising. Also see
www.endsmoking.org.nz/faq.htm
www.endsmoking.org.nz/objectives.htm
www.endsmoking.org.nz/index.htm
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