Health & Disability Intelligence

New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey

Information for survey participants

What is the NZ Tobacco Use Survey?

Who is carrying out the Survey?

Why was I asked to participate?

What questions will be asked?

How long will it take?

What will the information be used for?

Where can I find the survey results?

Can I choose an interviewer?

I don’t smoke, why interview me?

Is it compulsory?

How is my privacy protected?

Who can I contact for more information or advice?

What is the NZ Tobacco Use Survey?
The New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey occurs twice in 3 years eg, 2006, 2008, 2009 (there is no collection in years covered by the New Zealand health Survey). The survey collects information about tobacco use, exposure to second-hand smoke, and attitudes surrounding smoking. Around 5,500 households throughout New Zealand participate.

Who is carrying out the Survey?
The National Research Bureau (NRB Ltd.), a specialist survey firm, is conducting the NZ Tobacco Use Survey under contract to the Ministry of Health.

Why was I asked to participate?
Your address was chosen by chance from selected geographical areas throughout New Zealand. One person aged 15 years and over from your household will be randomly selected and asked to participate.

What questions will be asked?
The New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey collects information about:

Whether you currently smoke, or have ever smoked
The age you started smoking
The brands and types of tobacco you use
How often you smoke
Whether you have tried to, or quit smoking and what services, if any, you used.
Whether you are exposed to tobacco smoke at home, work or in a car
And your feelings about smoking and second-hand smoke

Some examples of questions in the NZ Tobacco Use Survey are:

Have you ever-smoked tobacco at all, even just a few puffs? Please include cigars and pipes.
Which of these products do you smoke?
Thinking of the car you usually travel in, do people smoke in the car?

Each question will have options for you to choose from. You don’t have to answer every question in the survey, just let the interviewer know at the time. The interviewer will be there to guide and answer any questions that you may have during the survey.

How long will it take?
The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to half an hour to complete. Some people will take less time (maybe 10 minutes) and others will take longer. You can stop the interview at any time if you need to without explanation.

What will the information be used for?
The Ministry of Health uses the information collected in the NZ Tobacco Use Survey to:

Monitor tobacco use in the population, particularly within specific groups in the population
Monitor the use of cessation services
Develop health and tobacco policies
Develop programmes and services which better meet the needs of New Zealanders
Conduct additional research

Health researchers outside the Ministry of Health can apply to use NZ Tobacco Use Survey data. They are given confidential unit records that do not contain any information that could identify you (in accordance with the Health Act 1956, clause 22H).

Where can I find the survey results?
The Ministry of Health will publishes the NZ Tobacco Use Survey results on its website - www.moh.govt.nz/publications.

You can also phone 04 496 2277 and request a copy of the results to be mailed to you free of charge.

Can I choose an interviewer?
Yes, you are able to choose an interviewer of the same ethnicity or gender as yourself. Please let the interviewer know, or phone the NRB survey line on 0800 672 476.

I don’t smoke, why interview me?
The Ministry of Health needs information from people who don’t smoke, so that it can be compared with those who do smoke. It is also important to know if non-smokers smoked in the past or not, if members of their household smoke, or if they experience second-hand smoke at work or socially.

Is it compulsory?
No, but it is very helpful to the people who plan our health services if everyone who is chosen takes part. You don’t need to answer any question if you don’t want to, and you will not be disadvantaged in any way if you don’t take part. We are asking for your goodwill on behalf of our NZ health services.

How is my privacy protected?
The information you provide to the interviewer is confidential and protected by the privacy act. That means that the interviewer will not discuss your information with anyone else. The interviewer enters your answers directly into a computer and assigns a code number to your responses. Your answers will not be stored with any information that could identify you, such as your name or address. The information you provide will only be used for statistical and research purposes. Your information will be combined with information from other people to prepare summary statistics about groups of different people. No one will be able to know that you participated in this study, or be able to find out what your answers were.

The NZ Tobacco Use Survey has been approved by the Multi-region Ethics Committee.

Who can I contact for more information or advice?
If your participation in the New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey has raised any issues that you would like to discuss, please ring one of the following free 0800 numbers, or look on the websites below:

Healthline	0800 611 116
The Quit Group	0800 778 778 www.quit.org.nz
Action on Smoking & Health	0508 274 4636 www.ash.org.nz

Page last updated: 5 November 2008