WAHAROA - Mavis Wetere is so ashamed of her past addiction to cigarettes that she refuses to reveal how many she smoked a day.
Now the 53-year-old grandmother of nine, who gave up her habit two years ago, is a role model for a smokefree policy launched yesterday atRaungaiti Marae in Waharoa, near Matamata.
In banning smoking entirely, Raungaiti has challenged other Tainui marae to do the same.
Mrs Wetere, who has five children who still smoke, said she started nearly 40 years as a "new teenager."
She knew it was time to give up when she could barely get out of bed each day.
"I'm trying to save myself now but I should have had all those years - I could still be a marathon runner."
Pam Neilson, the public health nurse in Matamata, said the elders of the marae had advocated the non-smoking policy and many had their own "quit" stories to tell.
"We're talking now of ongoing maintenance of being a smokefree marae."
Trevor Shailer, the Smokefree spokesman for the Health Sponsorship Council, said only a few marae nationally had banned smoking.
An ageing population and past and present tobacco use are predicted to double Maori deaths from smoking over the next 30 years.
Mr Shailer said that in the past, smoking among Maori youth had been associated with identifying strongly as Maori.
"This may be the result of peer pressure and many Maori environments like marae having high numbers of smokers present."
Smokefree supporter Lloyd Whiu, whose Kawhia family tour schools with a smokefree theatre performance, said the declaration by the marae was the first and easiest step.
"The hard part comes later on with the different hui that are held ... where the workers that come in are the smokers."
