Thursday, January 14 1999
Thank you Murray for accepting our " Rendez-vous ".
May I ask you to introduce yourself ?
I am a public health physician based in Auckland New Zealand, working mainly in tobacco control policy, research and advocacy since 1984. I have my own consulting company, called Health New Zealand.
1. When did you start producing "NZ smoke-free news" and why?
I started NZ Smokefree News to keep our tobacco control people fully and reliably informed on tobacco control issues as they arose. It is emailed every Monday morning to several hundred people in New Zealand, and to Globalink.
2. You mention that on January 30 tobacco firms will report 1998 data to the NZ Ministry of Health. What it is about?
The tobacco firms are required by law to report on the tobacco they have used, the tar and nicotine smoke tests they are required to conduct, and the number and price of the tobacco products sold, by brand and pack size. From these data the Ministry of Health can get further analyses to monitor market trends.
3. In February tobacco consumption data will be released by "Stats NZ".
Do you get data by brands? Do you get detailed data for "kids" (like
10, 11 years old, etc)?
Is "Stats NZ" required to compute yearly such data?
This data is given only as totals of cigarettes and loose tobacco, not by brand, and gives no information as to who has bought the products. Per adult data are computed by the Health Ministry.
4. Can you tell us about the eventual "new tobacco packet warnings"?
The new tobacco packet warnings will copy the current varied Australian packet warnings. They take up about 25 percent of the front of the packet. The important new warnings are "Smoking kills" and "Smoking is addictive."
5. How many people live in New Zealand and how much public money is devoted to tobacco control? (What percentage is it of tobacco taxes?)
New Zealand has 3.7 million people, and very approximately NZ$10 million (US$5 million) goes into tobacco control currently (i.e.
US$ 1,35 per capita),now that all the tobacco sponsorships have been replaced with smokefree sponsorships for a 3 year period, as the law provided for. Estimated tobacco tax revenue for 1998 amounts to US$369 million. The tobacco control budget represents 1,36% of tobacco taxes: the equivalent of 5 days of tobacco taxes goes to pay for correcting the problem.
Anything you would like to add?
Among the industrialized countries, New Zealand probably had the fastest reduction of tobacco products consumption per adult age 15 and over during the 1960-1990 and 1984-92 periods.
1976: 3154; 1996: 1505 cigarettes per adult per year, (52% fall) 1997: 1438.
Cigarette smoking prevalence reduced by one third from 1976 to 1996 (36% to 24%) for adults age 15 and over.
Lung cancer rates are now falling in men, and in women under age 55.
Among the total population, 17% of deaths are due to smoking (4500 deaths per year).
Among New Zealand Mario people, 31% of deaths are due to smoking.
Main legislation, the Smokefree Environments Act 1990, bans tobacco advertising and sponsorship in virtually all forms.
Tobacco products can be displayed but not advertised in shops. Offices and the public parts of all workplaces are smokefree by law.
Thank you Murray for taking the time to be with us today.
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