Tobacco Facts 2005

Tobacco Facts 2005

Date of publication: October 2005

HP 4189

Summary

Tobacco use, in the form of cigarette smoking, is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand and is responsible for a large proportion of New Zealand’s disease burden. Second-hand smoke (SHS) is also recognised as a major public health problem in New Zealand and is associated with many of the same cancers and diseases as active smoking.

There is a clear association between high smoking prevalence, ethnicity and low socioeconomic position in New Zealand, which makes it a contributing factor to the health inequalities seen between Māori and non-Māori.

The following report presents data from the 2004 ACNielsen (NZ) Ltd Survey, the 2004 ASH Year 10 survey, and data from Statistics New Zealand on tobacco products released and annual tobacco returns. This information will contribute to ongoing developments in tobacco control initiatives, and will be of interest to tobacco control policy-makers and tobacco control agencies.

Key Findings

There is a notable decrease in prevalence for 2004 with estimated overall smoking prevalence at 23.4 percent.

The average number of cigarettes smoked per day remains around 12, with males smoking higher numbers of cigarettes per day than females.

The prevalence of smoking in youths aged 14 to 15 decreased in 2004, with fewer students starting to smoke before year 10.

Schools with lower socioeconomic deciles continue to demonstrate higher smoking prevalence.

The prevalence of smoking remains high in the 15–24 and 25–34 years age groups, particularly among those aged 20–24.

Just under one in every two Māori is classified as being a smoker compared to one in every five non-Māori.

Approximately one in every four Pacific peoples are classified as being smokers.

There has been a general decrease in smoking among all ethnicities.

People with low incomes, particularly beneficiaries, have a high smoking prevalence, demonstrating the contribution of tobacco to health inequality in New Zealand.

Tobacco consumption per capita has decreased between 2002 and 2004.

Comments on this report are welcomed, and should be sent to: Public Health Intelligence, Ministry of Health, PO Box 5013, Wellington.

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Related information

Other issues of Tobacco Facts

Tobacco Control and Smoking

Public Health Intelligence

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