Health reporter Martin Johnston begins a series on the state of smoking in New Zealand and efforts to reduce it.
Jump to full article: New Zealand Herald, 2010-01-04
Author: Martin Johnston
Intro: The number of teenagers who have never lit up a cigarette is rapidly increasing, leading some to conclude a sea change is occurring in young people's attitudes to tobacco.
Surveys for the Ministry of Health show that just over half of teenagers aged 15 to 19 have never tried smoking - "not even one puff". This is markedly higher than in 2006, when the figure was 39 per cent.
The trend, attributed to the increasing "denormalisation" of smoking through changes like the 2004 ban on smoking in bars, is even more marked among 14- and 15-year-olds. A survey of them in 2008 found that 61 per cent reported never having smoked - a figure that has nearly doubled in nine years.
The possibility of a radical shift in youth behaviour and attitudes to smoking coincides with a two-pronged push to plot the demise of tobacco.
The public health community and Maori Party MP Hone Harawira are campaigning for the eventual elimination of what they call an addictive poison that should no longer be considered a normal consumer product.
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