An initial meeting between health and social services and government agencies commit to a collective vision and the need for greater collaboration for those of us working in Paharakeke, Flaxmere. We agree we could improve our information sharing by building relationships and trust. A seemingly simple exercise but it all takes time and commitment to work together. This has been brought to a head by a number of factors: a youth symposium held to draw up action plans for Hastings suburbs, recent devastating suicides and the Children's Commissioner, Russell Wills, calling for commitment and a national plan to address child poverty.
But my main concern this week is people who smoke. Smokefree auahi kore is a passion of mine. Tobacco control, quickly renamed smokefree auahi kore, was my main lead area as senior population health adviser during my time with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board.
Smokefree Aotearoa 2025, an ambitious goal set to reduce tobacco-smoking prevalence to less than 5 per cent of the population by 2025.
Politicians Tariana Turia and Hone Harawira were known for their smokefree commitment and their leadership will be missed. Tobacco use is the largest preventable cause of illness and early death. Tobacco use is a major determinant of inequality in health. Dependence on it is a chronic relapsing condition.
One in two Maori women smoke during pregnancy. Neonatal, newborn and infant health will be negatively affected by exposure to first and second-hand tobacco smoke, so being smokefree remains the best opportunity to improve Maori health and reduce inequalities. So I nag, cajole, plead. I don't want to see these people get sick. They have become my mates and I care about them. I nag knowing it is a form of "brief intervention".
Evidence tells us that four out of five people who smoke will be considering quitting. So I continue my "the best thing you could do for your health is to be smokefree", which may trigger a quit attempt. But I have interrupted young people picking through cigarette butts to scrounge left-over tobacco to roll their own from our rubbish tins.
I have called on all contacts and we have begun developing an "auahi kore Paharakeke project". Smokefree support at every step, ensuring people have access to free quit coach support with patches, gum, lozenges or champix. Most people will have 12-15 quit attempts before finally giving up.
I pay tribute to Ngati Kahungunu Iwi for their leadership. All iwi events are now "tupeka kore" - tobacco-free. This means whanau are prohibited from bringing tobacco products to venues of iwi events with supportive visible quit services to help smokers to quit.
Today, October 1, branded "Stoptober" provides a fabulous opportunity to quit. A national campaign launched encouraging mass quitting.
Throughout Stoptober, people wanting to kick the habit can visit www.stoptobernz.co.nz to sign up. This website will direct you towards free smokefree support in our area.
Hawke's Bay has a number of free services which provide stop-smoking products and face-to-face, online and phone counselling. Please, whanau, the best thing you could do for your health today is to be smokefree. Give Stoptober a go.
• Ana Apatu is chief executive of the U-Turn Trust, based at Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere.
