Hard word on Maori smokers

KILLER CAMPAIGN: Te Reo Marama (the Maori Smokefree Coalition) has launched the 'Maori killers' anti-smoking campaign targeted specifically at Maori.

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A hard hitting anti-smoking campaign using fake cigarette packs labelled "Maori killers" has been launched today.

Te Reo Marama (the Maori Smokefree Coalition) distributed packs from the "Maori Killers Tobacco Company" with mock health warnings, such as "Want equality? Smoking is an equal opportunity killer".

The packs contain 20 "Maori killer truths" in the shape of cigarettes, while posters and other material have also been distributed.

"This is about stimulating discussion in a new form and taking a shot at the tobacco companies for their continued ability to operate in the 21st Century with products that kill 5000 New Zealanders, of which 800 are Maori," TRM director Shane Bradbrook said.

Mr Bradbrook said tobacco companies had, to date, operated in an under-regulated manner with a product that killed.

"We see product recalls for dangerous products all the time. Just look at the Chinese milk powder scandal," he said.

"Yet there is no accountability or responsibility taken for the deaths of so many Kiwis caused by a handful of wealthy tobacco executives."

He said TRM aimed to reduce Maori usage of cigarettes and to that end the labelling of the product as "Maori Killer" was important.

"But you could easily call it 'Kiwi Killer', 'Pacific Island Killer' or 'Asian Killer'. And this killer product is commonly available from your corner diary," Mr Bradbrook said

He said Maori had been over-represented in smoking statistics, though in the past five years the smoking rate among Maori has fallen from 54 percent to 40 percent.

TRM has been active in recent years in its attempts to reduce Maori smoking rates, and was also to the forefront of a 2006 campaign which successfully got tobacco giant Philip Morris to apologise for using Maori images on cigarette packets in Israel.

- NZPA