Ministry of Health update

Jane Chambers

Manager, Tobacco Control Programme

20 June 2018

Who are we?

Government

Policy team

Contracts team

HPA

NTSPHUs

Academics

NGOsHāpai Quitline

ASH

Stop smoking services

DHBs PHOs Primary

care

How are we doing?

• around 529,000 New Zealanders smoke daily

• daily smoking rates continue to decrease - from 18.3% (2006/07) to 13.8% (2016/17)

• daily smoking rates are 3.2% for 15-17 year olds and 16.3% for 18-24 year olds

• tobacco consumption decreased 31% between 2010 and 2016

but…

• despite Māori daily rates falling – from 39.2% (2006/07) to 32.5 % (2016/17) - Māori are 3 times more likely to smoke

• young Māori males (aged 15 to 24) smoke at twice the rate of non-Māori

• young Māori females smoke at 4 times the rate of non-Māori

• Pacific daily rates have not significantly changed over time• 21.8 percent in 2016/17, down three percent from 2006/07

• those living in the most deprived areas are 4 times more likely to smoke

How are we tracking towards Smokefree 2025?

2011 (%) 2016/17 (%) Mid-term targets (%)

2018Total population 16.5 13.8 10.0

Māori 38.4 32.5 19.2

Pacific 23.1 21.8 11.5

2017 ASH Year 10 Survey

• 82 percent of students report never smoking

• 4.9 percent regular smokers

• 2.1 percent daily smokers

What’s new?

• new Government

• new Minister

• new Director-General

What do we do?

• advise Government on tobacco control policy

• monitor the impact of the tobacco control programme

• health target reporting

• stakeholder engagement

• international (FCTC)

• enforcement of the SFEA

• ministerial servicing

Our priorities

• strong equity focus

• tobacco excise tax evaluation

• regulation of vaping and emerging tobacco products

• Smokefree 2025 action plan

Ministry of Health v Philip Morris (NZ) Ltd

• Ministry believed HEETs sticks were prohibited from sale

• court found all tobacco products - except chewing and dissolving types - can be lawfully sold and distributed under the Smoke-free Environments Act

• the Crown has not appealed the decision

Implications of the decision

• vaping products and heated tobacco products can be legally sold in New Zealand

• same regulatory controls apply to smoked tobacco, heated tobacco and vaping products manufactured from tobacco

• smoking ban in indoor workplaces only applies to smoked tobacco and does not apply to vaping or other products that are not smoked

• Government is considering how best to apply risk-proportionate regulations across all tobacco products

The Ministry’s position on vaping…

• vaping products have the potential to contribute to the Smokefree 2025 goal

• the potential of vaping products to help improve public health depends on the extent to which they can

act as a route out of smoking for New Zealand’s 529,000 daily smokers, without providing a route into smoking for children and non-smokers

• encourage smokers who want to use vaping products to quit smoking to seek the support of local stop smoking services

• stop smoking services must support smokers who want to quit with the help of vaping services

Thank you and questions