Nothing positive with ciggies

So there is certainly no harm done in taxing the living daylights out of cigarettes. PHOTO/FILE

I CAN'T actually remember the last time I smelt cigarette smoke.

The tide of hatred against smokers has all but drowned cigarettes, or (to continue the metaphor) left smokers marooned on isolated, out of the way "islands", usually in windy, inhospitable locations.

Nowadays, you get more air pollution when you drive down Ngaumutawa Rd in Masterton while they're doing that burn-off near Solway Railway station.

So there is certainly no harm done in taxing the living daylights out of cigarettes, despite the nonsense spouted by the tobacco industry as to whether this will increase the trade in illicit cigarettes. This isn't like crossing the English Channel with a boot full of cigarettes and booze. And frankly, anyone who wants to grow their own tobacco would hardly make a dent.

The argument, put forward by an academic, that cigarette taxing is a racist attack on Maori, is something you have to shake your head at. If you wanted to be literal about it, just about anything we do in terms of Western infrastructure could be argued as racist against Maori. European concepts work really well for Europeans. They have not worked as well for Maori, including the Treaty of Waitangi. We are now in a situation where our vices -- smoking -- have been taken up by Maori. An academic now argues that, since daily smoking rates in Maori and Pacific Islanders have not fallen in 10 years, we are creating another reason to discriminate against Maori, because they remain unliked, unwelcome smokers.

Stopping smoking is a combination of pressures. The crippling cost, over time, the severe health problems, the banning from public spaces and social stigma -- they have all combined pretty effectively. We might despair a bit at people continuing to smoke, but give it time. It's on its way out. I can't explain why apparently the Maori and Pacific Island community appear to be hanging on to this particular addiction, but the country's health policy is for everyone.

Perhaps some groups need strong role models, who have the mana to provide positive messages rather than the negativity of smoking stigma. In that, Maori Party co-founder Dame Tariana Turia, the architect of higher tobacco taxes, is someone people should be listening to more.