The Government's full response to the recommendations of the Maori Affairs Committee report, following an inquiry into the tobacco industry and the effects of tobacco use among Maori, was tabled in Parliament in March 2011.
The inquiry ran throughout 2010 with the Maori Affairs Select Committee receiving 260 submissions, 96 oral submissions and over 1700 letters throughout the process. This led to forty-two recommendations from the Select Committee, which the Government has responded to in full.
The response signals a bold step forward as the Government continues to accord priority to tobacco reduction and commits to the challenging goal of seeing Aotearoa become a nation that is essentially smokefree by 2025," says Mrs Turia.

In its response the Government has agreed to:

• the goal of supporting New Zealand to become a smokefree nation by 2025
• develop appropriate mid-term targets for reducing tobacco consumption and smoking rates towards achieving this goal
• consider legislative amendments concerning the promotion, packaging, and display of tobacco products through the Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Bill which is currently before the House
• review information disclosure regulations for tobacco products and consider implementing a more stringent regime regarding information about the additives in tobacco products
• investigate using existing regulatory powers to reduce the use of additives and nicotine levels, as a possible next step following the work on information disclosure
• investigate measures relating to the supply and availability of tobacco, once New Zealand has made more progress to reduce smoking rates.

The Government's response looks to build on the existing programme of tobacco control initiatives already underway and the success that has been achieved. It's about challenging ourselves to take the next step without losing the momentum that we've already created. There is still so much to be done, and a collective approach needs to be taken to achieve a Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025.

Click here for the full report

Click here for the latest 'Next Steps' document