One includes a drug that partially blocks the effects of nicotine on the brain, called cystine. They will test to see if the drug is more effective than a tapered reduction when accompanied by support from New Zealand Quitline.
Walker said little evidence exists on the best way to support those attempting to quit vaping. As the Government continues to increase new tobacco control policies, Walker said it is inevitable that vaping in New Zealand will rise.
“These policy changes in the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan will make medical nicotine replacement therapy and vapes [e-cigarettes] the only legal nicotine available for smokers to manage withdrawal symptoms,” Walker said.
The Government also started to crack down on vaping this month with several new regulations. Walker said her trial will also assess whether interventions for quitting vaping have any unintended consequences on smoking rates.
“The priority remains that people should not smoke cigarettes, which kill about 5000 New Zealanders a year,” Walker said.
Another grant has been given to Dr Paula Toko King and Charlizza Matehe who will be co-leading a Rangahau Hauroa Māori project that aims to improve the health of Māori aged 10 to 24 who have been released from youth justice residences or prison.
King said the days, weeks, and years following their release are a crucial intervention point for health and wellbeing impacts.
“Child and youth incarceration is increasingly recognised as a determinant of health and wellbeing across the life course, with age at first incarceration an important predictor of outcomes,” King said.
“This is an area where we need effective solutions, not only for Māori but also for Indigenous children and young people around the world.”
Meanwhile, a trial for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for New Zealand’s Pacific population also received a grant.
The two experts spearheading the project, Dr Zaramasina Clark and Dr Edmond Fehoko, said although the Pacific community is likely to experience higher levels of infertility than other ethnicities, they are among the least likely to seek fertility treatments.
The trial aims to identify how reproductive technologies can better serve Pacific communities in one of three Pacific-focused grants.
One of the branches of this trial will research the contentious clinical use of body mass index (BMI) to prioritise patients who seek assisted reproductive technologies through the public health system, a practice that disadvantages ethnicities with higher BMI such as Pacific and Māori women.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
