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Smokefree Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill : Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga

Friday 15 July 2011, 9:02AM

By Maori Party

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I rise to take a brief call on my Supplementary Order Paper in relation to my new clauses 5a, 6a and 9a to amend the Smokefree Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill.

I want to wrap some context around the reason why the Maori Party has been so consistently united in our determination to rid this nation of tobacco.

I believe that every New Zealander should know the ghastly reality that about 5,000 deaths each year in this country are attributable to direct smoking or second hand smoke.

And I say ‘ghastly’ deliberately, as smoking harms nearly every organ and system in the body.

It is the cause of 80 percent of lung cancer cases and is linked to many other cancers.

It is a major cause of heart attacks, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking can also cause blindness, impotence and infertility.

So there should be little explanation needed as to why we are so fiercely in support of tobacco control initiatives.

I do want to place on record, my admiration for the way in which the Honourable Tariana Turia has maintained such steady progress in reducing smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption.

It is an inspiration to us all – and I have seen that reflected also in the commitment of others around the House, particularly Iain Lees-Galloway and Paul Hutchison, as well as all of the members of the Maori Affairs select committee who have really become such strong advocates of tobacco reform.

The onus is on us all to live up to this nation’s reputation of trying to eliminate tobacco harm.

Clauses 5a, 6a and 9a very simply place on record that we should not only be concerned about supermarkets and dairies but it is the internet tobacco pushers as well that we need to be aware of.

And so my amendment places them and us on alert.

I will also speak very briefly to Iain Lees-Galloway’s Supplementary Order Paper because I think that it really is necessary that it is not only retailers we are targeting in his new clause 7B, in relation to free distribution and rewards.

I think we need to be very careful that wholesalers are also brought within the legislation. I think that this Supplementary Order Paper is a good one and it makes very clear, that wholesalers as well as retailers need to be very careful about the promotions that they run.

There is one little problem I say to Mr Lees-Galloway, that I have with the spelling. The member has fixed it? Ok – so it is Ka Mate, not Ka Mata. That is very good. I am pleased to see that the member has picked that up.

It is really important that when retailers put up advertising they are not managing in some way to limit the message that we are trying to get across, that smoking kills.

It does and we need to be very clear about that.

We need to put the onus on those who are selling the drugs that they must live up to their civic duty. Kia ora.