Obese patients have been paid up to $911 to lose weight in a UK trial to test if financial incentives can be used to change unhealthy behaviour.

MPs probing the tobacco industry got personal with the family of a Maori smoking victim describing the impact of his addiction and death.

An Auckland academic says smoking rates in New Zealand would plummet if tobacco products could not be displayed at shops.

Maori told the parliamentary tobacco inquiry today that their marae were being undermined by tobacco smoking and associated early death.

Canadian women's ice hockey team celebrate their gold medal win over the USA with beer, champagne and cigars on the ice.

Cigarette smokers have lower IQs than non-smokers and the more a person smokes, the lower his IQ, according to a new study.

A proposal to ban smoking at beaches and other public places doesn't have the support of John Key, who thinks it is too "nanny state".

Health officials tackling Maori smoking want new measures to ban the habit at beaches, playgrounds, bus stops and other areas.

Half the nation, including smokers, support completely banning cigarettes within 10 years, a study has found.

Just under 50 per cent of Maori women smoke, compared to 20 per cent for the whole population aged 15 to 64.