MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation – Release/Statement
Headline: World Smokefree Day – Nurses want plain packaging as well as price increases
30 May 2016
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is celebrating World Smokefree Day – a global event that draws attention to the effects of smoking, on Tuesday 31 May.
NZNO kaiwhakahaere, Kerri Nuku is clear about the need for stronger action to increase quit rates.
“We are pleased to see the 10 percent price increases for tobacco in the 2016 Budget and that an additional 10 percent increase will happen every year for the next four years. It is one way we can make progress toward a Smokefree Aotearoa. The other step the government should be taking right now is introducing plain packaging for tobacco products.”
“It is disappointing that the increased tobacco tax has not been earmarked to pay for smoking cessation services. We need to support quitting smokers every way we can, and that includes funding holistic, culturally appropriate, community-based quitting services.”
“As health professionals, we deal first hand with the consequences of tobacco use every day. We see its effects on our patients’ physical and mental health, and the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of their whānau,” she says.
For further information about quitting smoking, phone Quitline on 0800 778778 or visit www.quit.org.nz. More information about World Smokefree Day can be found at www.worldsmokefreeday.org.nz