Director and Board

The Smokefree Coalition is run by a director, Prudence Stone, who reports to a Board. The Smokefree Coalition is primarily government funded.

Board members include representatives from the Cancer Society, the National Heart Foundation, the Asthma Foundation, the NZ Drug Foundation, Action on Smoking and Health and Te Hotu Manawa Māori.

To ensure appropriate expertise is maintained, up to three further individuals may be appointed to the Board. The Chair is Robert Beaglehole, who is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Auckland

Our members:

Our objectives

The Smokefree Coalition promotes a smokefree New Zealand. Our objectives are to:

• research and compile information on smoking issues in New Zealand and internationally
• disseminate tobacco control information to central government, Smokefree Coalition members and the public
• advocate for strong tobacco control measures especially through legislation and regulation (including enforcement), taxation and health promotion
• coordinate the efforts of agencies involved in promoting tobacco control
• carry out other activities to promote greater tobacco control.

Our philosophy

The Smokefree Coalition uses the best available evidence to form positions on tobacco control issues, and has a population-based, public health focus.

We work closely with other organisations with an interest in tobacco control – such as Te Reo Marama (Māori Smokefree Coalition), Action on Smoking and Health, The Quit Group, Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, Health Sponsorship Council, and the Cancer Society.

Our priorities 

Our current priorities include:

Increasing the taxation on tobacco products

There is overwhelming evidence that increases in the price of cigarettes and tobacco encourage people to quit smoking, and make it harder for young people to start. The Smokefree Coalition believes an increase in tobacco taxation is overdue (the last non-consumer price index related increase was in 2000), and that such an increase would reduce tobacco consumption in New Zealand. A percentage of the increased tobacco tax take should be put towards tobacco control initiatives, such as quit smoking support.

Sale and supply of tobacco products

Tobacco products kill half their consumers when used as the manufacturer intends. If tobacco was introduced today, it would be a Class A drug. This is why tobacco products must be heavily regulated. Measures supported by the Smokefree Coalition include the introduction of graphic pictorial health warnings on tobacco packets, banning the display of tobacco products at point-of-sale, and the banning of sales of duty-free cigarettes.

Exposing the tobacco industry

The tobacco industry spent decades denying that tobacco was harmful or addictive, and portraying smoking as a fun, cool thing for young people to do. Research shows that exposing ‘tobacco industry manipulation’ to young people can help them stay smokefree. The Smokefree Coalition is committed to exposing tobacco industry lies and tactics.

See the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website for a list of sites with access to tobacco industry documents. For a summary of tobacco industry activities, see the ASH New Zealand website.

Denormalising smoking

We would also like to make smoking appear less 'normal' by having R-ratings on movies that contain smoking, or tobacco product placement. The less exposure young people have to smoking, and the more accurate their perception of the number of people who smoke (that is, less than quarter of the population), the less likely they are to become smokers themselves.

Monitoring and surveillance

The Government spends around $28 million on tobacco control annually. We need to know that this money is having the greatest possible impact on smoking prevalence and consumption. We must therefore have high-quality, consistent data on smoking-related issues, and ensure that the Ministry of Health undertakes adequate monitoring of tobacco control issues.

What we have achieved

Smokefree bars and restaurants

Our biggest recent achievement has been the part we played in the successful passage of the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003. This legislation required all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants, to be smokefree from December 2004. It is estimated that this legislation will save around 100 lives a year, as workers’ exposure to second-hand smoke is almost eliminated.

The Smokefree Coalition worked closely with other tobacco control agencies and supplied decision-makers with evidence-based information about the benefits of smokefree workplaces. Misinformation was addressed and corrected, and public awareness raised about the chemicals present in second-hand smoke.

Provision of information to the tobacco control community

The Smokefree Coalition plays a key role in updating tobacco control organisations and workers on the latest national and international happenings. Each fortnight, the Smokefree Coalition newsletter Tobacco Control Update is circulated by email to over 700 people.

Research and reports

The Smokefree Coalition is a member of a number of groups considering various aspects of tobacco control research. It also commissions research into tobacco control issues such as tobacco taxation and harm minimisation.

A number of resources and reports have been developed by the Smokefree Coalition, often in partnership with other tobacco control organisations. These include:

• Aotearoa New Zealand Smokefree Workplaces: A 12-month report - December 2005 (PDF, 658Kb)
• Tobacco Control Facts at a Glance 2003 (PDF, 678Kb).