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Mission
To reduce smoking rates within the communities of Partnership Health Canterbury by working collegially with other organisations in providing prevention and smoking cessation programmes.
Why target tobacco consumption?
- Tobacco consumption is the most readily preventable cause of premature death in New Zealand
- Tobacco consumption causes an estimated 4,700 deaths per year in New Zealand
- In addition, it is now recognised that second-hand smoke is a significant cause of illness and death (around 388 per year in New Zealand).
- Asthma, glue ear, and respiratory infections in infants and children are all exacerbated by second-hand smoke
- 25% of the general population smoke. Maori and Pacific peoples have higher smoking rates at 49% and 33% respectively. Smoking rates are also relatively high among low-income groups and the uptake of smoking in young people increased during the 1990s
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| The PEGS Smoking Cessation programme is a General Practice programme that has been shown to be effective in achieving and maintaining significant quit rates. |
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Achievements
Pegging Thousands of Cantabrians
The PEGS (Preparation, Education, Giving Up and Staying Smokefree) programme is promoted through all of our general practices. More than 2,680 people were enrolled in the programme in the 2007/08 year. Of these 10.4 percent were Maori or Pacific peoples.
Smokefree Canterbury
We have continued to work alongside Smokefree Canterbury in its smoking cessation activities.
Key achievements in the 2007/08 year included support for the Smokefree Playgrounds pilot, a trial project resulting from the Partnership Health Canterbury-supported Hornby Project which inspired a group of high school students to advocate for smokefree parks to their local community board. Trial signage at selected playgrounds asks smokers choose to refrain from smoking while at the playground. Results from a public survey conducted by Smokefree Canterbury show 93 percent of people surveyed (including 89 percent of smokers) are in support of making playground areas smokefree. The Christchurch City Council is proceeding to look at possible options for a smokefree playgrounds policy citywide.
Partnership Health Canterbury also continues to support the ongoing Smokefree Community project in Hornby being run by Smokefree Canterbury. The project aims to reduce the number of people who actively smoke and the number who start smoking, and increase the number of people seeking help to quit and the number of smokefree homes and cars in the area. The primary outcome of community change will not be fully apparent until 2009; funding for this project will continue for 2008/09.
Tearing Down the Wall on tobacco displays
The Tear Down the Wall project was instigated by a group of 9-12 year old students from Christchurch's Discovery 1 school who wanted to get the attention of MPs and lobby for a ban on retail tobacco displays, known as 'Powerwalls'. Partnership Health Canterbury provided resources to support the students' project, in which they created a website and staged a live media event in Cathedral Square. See the Resources Sidebar on this page for more details.
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