Smoking in Tokelau is prevalent, with ethnic Tokelauans having the highest smoking prevalence of all Pacific ethnicities.[1] In the 2011 Tokelau Census, 47.8% of people aged over 15 were found to be regular cigarette smokers.
Legislation
editNew Zealand has provided support to Tokelau in the form of drafting tobacco control legislation.[2] Furthermore, conversations carried out by Ashton Kelly of the University of Otago in late 2014/early 2015 indicate that there is great public support for increased tobacco control.[2] "Tokelau Health" aims to draw inspiration from New Zealand's "smokefree" campaigns and legislation.[2]
Tobacco regulation is expected to be, compared to other nations, easier to carry out.[2] As of 2014, in Tokelau there are only three stores that sell tobacco, and there is no known production of tobacco on the island.[2] Furthermore, with the only way to import goods into Tokelau being a single boat service from Apia, it would be feasible to prevent smuggling.[2]
Smoking by atoll
edit
Atafu has the highest proportion of people who smoke cigarettes regularly, with 51.5% of usual residents present in Tokelau on census night in 2011 being regular smokers.
Fakaofo has the lowest proportion of regular smokers (43.9%) and, compared to Atafu and Nukunonu, Fakaofo has the highest percentage of ex-smokers, with 8.6% of the population having given up smoking cigarettes regularly.
Smoking by age
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At the time of the 2011 Tokelau Census 23.1% of Tokelau's 15- to 19-year-olds smoked cigarettes regularly. This figure has dropped markedly since 2006, when 40.4% of 15- to 19-year-olds smoked regularly.
Also at the time of the 2011 Tokelau Census, nearly 70% of Tokelau's people aged 20 to 29 years smoked cigarettes regularly (69.9%). This is much higher than the national rate (47.8%).
The next-highest proportion of regular smokers was for the 30- to 39-year-olds (56.8%). The older age groups were the least likely to be regular smokers, with 19.0% of those aged over 70 being smokers in 2011.
Smoking cessation
editIn 2009, 56 Tokelauans called Quitline, a telephone service which helps smokers end their addiction to cigarettes. The same number of Tokelauans called Quitline in 2008.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Tala Pasifika (2010) Tuatua Tika - Straight talk about Pacific Peoples and Smoking. Auckland: Tala Pasifika
- ^ a b c d e f Kelly, A., Tavite, S., Thomson, G., Wilson, N. (2014) Should New Zealand do more to help other Pacific nations become smokefree by 2025? The case of Tokelau as a potential example. N Z Med J 2014;127(1398):132-3. http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/127-1398/6226/content.pdf
- This article contains content derived from the 2011 Tokelau Census, produced by Statistics New Zealand, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License. See [1] for the full citation.
- ^ Statistics New Zealand (2012). Profile of Tokelau Ata o Tokelau: 2011 Census of Population and Dwellings / Tuhiga Igoa a Tokelau 2011 mo te Faitau Aofaki o Tagata ma na Fale. Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand