Researchers from the ASPIRE 2025 research centre welcome and endorse the Government's action plan for achieving a Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025.

The University of Otago research centre carries out research to support the Smokefree 2025 goal.

The action plan, released by Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall today, includes proposals to reduce the supply of tobacco products, and decrease their appeal and addictiveness, issues previously unaddressed in New Zealand.

Co-director of the ASPIRE 2025 Professor Janet Hoek says, 'We would like to congratulate Minister Verrall on publishing such a bold, innovative, and comprehensive action plan, and we congratulate the Government for delivering on the Manifesto promise to prioritise development of this plan”.

The plan also includes specific measures likely to greatly reduce uptake of smoking among young people and address the enormous environmental impact of discarded cigarette butts, say the researchers.

They applaud the plan's emphasis on strengthening the tobacco control system to ensure greater Maori control, and its improved focus on research, monitoring and evaluation.

Centre co-director Andrew Waa says the action plan finally addresses key recommendations made in the 2010 Maori Affairs Select Committee report from its inquiry into the tobacco industry in Aotearoa and the consequences of tobacco use for Maori. This report prompted the Government to adopt the Smokefree 2025 goal in 2011.

'This action plan at last sets out a realistic approach to meet the desire of Māori communities and leaders to eliminate the availability of tobacco products in Aotearoa and end the terrible health impacts they have on Māori,” says Andrew.

ASPIRE 2025 co-directors Professor Richard Edwards says 'This plan is a landmark for public health intervention and re-establishes New Zealand as a global leader in tackling the smoking epidemic.

'If implemented in full, it provides a realistic prospect that New Zealand could be the first country in the world to virtually eliminate tobacco smoking, and to do so equitably for all population groups.”