Latest news with #JanetHoek
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Tobacco industry playbook mirrored: research
New research shows coalition government MPs "closely mirrored the tobacco industry's playbook" to back their decision to repeal New Zealand's world-leading smokefree laws. University of Otago Aspire Aotearoa co-director Prof Janet Hoek said the sudden repeal of the law showed how quickly progress could be undone when politicians ignored evidence, public opinion and expert advice. She and fellow Otago researchers released a new Public Health Communication Centre briefing yesterday, showing an analysis of arguments made by the government during the rushed February 2024 repeal of the smokefree "endgame" laws. The laws would have reduced nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels, drastically cut the number of tobacco retailers, and created a smokefree generation by ending cigarette sales to people born after 2009. Prof Hoek said the repeal went against the best available evidence, against the advice of the Ministry of Health and against what most New Zealanders wanted. Researchers recently reviewed the verbatim Hansard record which showed what politicians said in the House of Representatives. They compared the contents with the Policy Dystopia Model, a framework that outlines argumentative strategies that tobacco companies use to oppose policies that restrict their marketing. "Many government arguments lacked evidence and closely mirrored the tobacco industry's playbook, such as overstating fears about illegal trade and shifting blame to individuals instead of holding tobacco companies accountable," she said. Hansard recordings from the time showed a New Zealand First Party MP saying, "Our smoking rates have fallen drastically in recent times ... If those trends continue without any additional measures, [we] will hit the headline smoke-free goal". Another showed a National Party MP saying, "We're going to be a lot less punitive ... provide [people] with more choice to help them quit". And an Act Party MP said, "... we [would] have a large illegal market putting profits in the pockets of gangs ..." if the smokefree laws continued. Opposition MPs strongly opposed the repeal, raising concerns about the lack of consultation, breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and the likely impact on health inequities. Prof Hoek said the researchers' analysis, published yesterday in BMJ journal Tobacco Control , provided evidence from the NZ Health Survey which showed the Smokefree 2025 goal was very unlikely to be achieved, particularly for Māori. The report said returning to individually-focused measures, such as smoking cessation support, shifted responsibility for smoking from tobacco companies to people who smoked. NZ data also showed the illicit tobacco trade would not put more money in the hands of gangs. It had remained stable over time, and recent analysis suggested it may have decreased. Whether deliberate or not, coalition MPs' use of arguments made by tobacco companies suggested an urgent need to restrict tobacco companies' ability to influence policy, the briefing said. "Additional measures, include introducing lobbying regulations, such as a code of conduct to govern lobbying, a register that records all lobbying activity undertaken by organisations, and legislation that would define how policy makers and officials maintain high compliance with their obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control." The briefing said these policies would increase transparency and should be an urgent priority here, and internationally. While limiting lobbying and making interactions more transparent was crucial, even these steps might not capture all the interactions between politicians, their staff, tobacco companies or the groups they support. "Researchers must thus continue to question tobacco companies' arguments, and the logic and evidence used to support these, particularly given court findings that tobacco companies deceived the public for many decades." Prof Hoek said their analysis offered a cautionary tale for other countries considering smokefree measures.
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Aotearoa's Smokefree Setback Offers A Warning For Countries Advancing Tobacco Control
Aotearoa New Zealand's sudden repeal of world-leading smokefree laws last year shows how quickly progress can be undone when political decisions ignore evidence, public opinion, and expert advice, according to a new Public Health Communication Centre Briefing. In the Briefing, researchers from the University of Otago analyse arguments made by Government and Opposition MPs during the rushed February 2024 repeal of smokefree 'endgame' laws. These laws would have reduced nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels, drastically cut the number of tobacco retailers, and created a smokefree generation by ending cigarette sales to people born after 2009. Despite strong public support and compelling evidence showing the laws would reduce smoking and save lives, the Coalition Government used urgency to repeal them, cutting out public consultation. 'This repeal went against the best available evidence, against the advice of the Ministry of Health, and against what most New Zealanders want, says Prof Janet Hoek, co-director of ASPIRE Aotearoa. 'It's a textbook example of how tobacco industry-style arguments can derail bold public health action.' The analysis published today in the BMJ journal Tobacco Control found that: Government MPs claimed Aotearoa was 'on track' to reach Smokefree 2025 goals, despite data showing Māori smoking rates remain much higher than those of non-Māori. Many Government arguments lacked evidence and closely mirrored the tobacco industry's playbook, such as overstating fears about illegal trade and shifting blame to individuals instead of holding tobacco companies accountable. Opposition MPs strongly opposed the repeal, raising concerns about the lack of consultation, breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the likely impact on health inequities. Prof Hoek says their analysis offers a cautionary tale for other countries considering smokefree measures. 'Understanding how these arguments played out and how misinformation went unchallenged can help other countries protect their policies from similar attacks.' The Briefing calls for steps to safeguard public health policymaking from tobacco industry influence. These include excluding tobacco companies from consultation on public health policy, introducing strong lobbying rules and a public register of industry contact, and ensuring full transparency in all interactions between politicians and the tobacco industry or its allies. About The Public Health Communication Centre The Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC) is an independently funded organisation dedicated to increasing the reach and impact of public health research in Aotearoa New Zealand. We work with researchers, journalists, and policymakers to ensure evidence is clearly communicated and accessible. We regularly publish public health expert commentary and analysis from across Aotearoa in The Briefing.
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Tobacco Transparency Bill ‘will benefit all'
Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre co-director Professor Janet Hoek. PHOTO: SUPPLIED When the government repealed smokefree legislation last year, questions were raised in the health and research sectors about why it was done, and if parties in the coalition government benefited from it. Opposition health spokeswoman Dr Ayesha Verrall's new Tobacco Transparency Bill, launched yesterday, aims to increase transparency, improve policy making, and stop the government from supporting, endorsing or advocating for the tobacco industry's interests. University of Otago researcher and Aspire Aotearoa co-director Prof Janet Hoek said the Bill was long overdue. "What the Bill is trying to do is to bring to light the evidence that would enable us to find out whether the [coalition] parties were benefiting from it. "At the moment, we don't know." The Bill was partly inspired by the actions of Associate Health Minister Casey Costello, who led the repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022. It effectively scrapped laws aimed at slashing tobacco retailers from 6000 to 600, removing 95% of the nicotine from cigarettes and creating a smokefree generation by banning sales to those born after 2009. Prof Hoek and Radio New Zealand sought information under the Official Information Act (OIA) to see what justification the ministry used to repeal the Act. Initially, Ms Costello refused to release any documents, citing a clause in the OIA legislation protecting confidential advice tendered by ministers and officials. So Prof Hoek and RNZ referred their OIA requests to chief ombudsman Peter Boshier, who ordered Ms Costello to release the information. Prof Hoek said they eventually received "a flood" of emails and documents, which had been heavily redacted by the ministry. "It's very difficult when a lot of the material is being heavily redacted because obviously you don't know what you don't know and it makes it difficult to undertake any kind of rigorous analysis. "All we do know is that we've seen a move towards decisions that align with the tobacco industry's interests. "And that's not just the repeal of the smokefree measures. "There were tax reductions on heated tobacco products, and there have been proposals to introduce oral nicotine products, which the tobacco industry has been pushing." Prof Hoek said it left many in the health and research sectors asking questions. "Does this new direction align with the research evidence? The answer to that is no. "Does it follow the expert advice from the Ministry of Health or from people like me working in the area? The answer to that is no. "Is there really resounding public support for this new direction of travel? Again, the answer to that is quite clearly no. "You end up thinking, who is going to benefit from these decisions and I think that's where you inevitably have to start considering the tobacco industry and what influence they've had." Under the Tobacco Transparency Bill, the prime minister would have to issue policies requiring ministers to declare any interests they have in tobacco companies; the minister of health would provide guidance for public officials explaining the potential for tobacco industry influence; and the public service commissioner would set standards for officials involved in developing tobacco control policies. Prof Hoek said the Bill would stop the government from supporting, endorsing or advocating for the tobacco industry's interests, and promote stronger compliance with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls on parties to protect "policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry". The Bill would also prevent people with interests in the tobacco industry from working on tobacco policy, and limit officials' ability to move directly from government roles to positions in tobacco companies. "If politicians have got nothing to hide, that would be really obvious, and I think the net effect would be that some of the trust that's been lost in the government could potentially be regained. "The repeal of measures that would have seen New Zealand realise the Smokefree 2025 goal appalled the public health community. "This Bill will protect policies that promote wellbeing and equity, and that will benefit all New Zealanders," she said.
