Hawke's Bay smokers will get their first visit to a registered family doctor or nurse for free during June to help them quit the habit.
For the whole month, anyone who smokes and wants to stop, will be eligible for the free visit, thanks to Health Hawke's Bay - Te Oranga Hawke's Bay.
The region's Primary Health Organisation (PHO) has launched the free visit as a way to help encourage more smokers to make their first step towards being smokefree.
Chief executive Philip Grant said the region had one of the worst rates of smokers in the country.
"Giving up smoking is one of the single biggest things someone can do for their health and the health of their whanau," Mr Grant said. "We're celebrating World Smokefree Day tomorrow and we're making an extra commitment in Hawke's Bay for the whole of next month.
"We're getting right behind smokers who want to become smokefree and we are doing it as the Government introduces more taxes on the cost of cigarettes."
During June the public will see a number of community champions, people living in the region, who have all stopped smoking, and are now encouraging others to also give up.
Smokefree champion Min Johansen from Wairoa, who had smoked since he was nine, said the biggest change for him was freedom from smoking.
"After 42 years I'm smokefree at 52," he said. "Now I'm free to do what I want, when I want. I went to see The Jersey Boys in Auckland - and I didn't have to go outside for a smoke at half time. I could stay warm inside.
"Everyone has to put up with the stink [of smoking] - I didn't smell it before, now I smell it straight away."
Joining him are Hastings smokefree champions Joan Henson and Freda Te Aho, and Joe Phillips and Sarita Henson from Central Hawke's Bay.
Joan, a smoker for 42 years, said when she smoked she felt weak, "but now I feel strong and proud to be smokefree".
Joe Phillips, 25, who lives in Otane said he had earned respect from his friends and family.
"I love sport and now I'm smokefree I'm playing harder and my fitness recovery is so much faster," he said.
Waipawa mother of two Sarita Henson, said smoking controlled her life.
"I'd smoke at every opportunity, but now I'm in control," she said.
Health Hawke's Bay will cover the co-payment (the normal fee an enrolled patient would pay to visit their doctor or nurse) for their first smoking cessation consultation with their doctor or nurse. This can cost up to $50, depending on whether a patient sees a doctor or nurse, and if their family doctor is based in a recognised "high needs" area.
There are a full range of government-funded support tools available in Hawke's Bay, ranging from nicotine replacement products such as gum and lozenges, medication such as Champix, one-to-one quit support and group-based programmes.