More seeking help to stop smoking

Fewer smokers in Rotorua are turning to Quitline for help, but one health expert says other services are still seeing an increase in those wanting to kick the habit.

Statistics released by the agency showed 72 Rotorua residents joined up from January 1 to January 19 - five less than the corresponding period in 2014.

Tipu Ora's smoking quit coach, Margie Epapara, said the figures didn't reflect the rising number of smokers coming to her and other support services for help.

"People just can't afford to smoke. They can't afford it with the new prices which went up on the first of January," she said.

"People are really determined to have better health and to have a bit more money in the pocket as well, so lots of people should be successful."

Ms Epapara said the Government-enforced tax rise was only partly responsible for the increase in tobacco prices as some vendors were also increasing their margins.

"What I am finding this year is the people who sell the cigarettes, they actually put their own mark-up on it. So, as opposed to being a 10 per cent increase, some people are finding when they go to buy their cigarettes there is actually a 15 per cent rise."

She said the tax increase had, however, proven more successful this year in pushing smokers to quit.

"More so this year than previous years. I think times are getting really hard now but it has taken two to three years for smokers to realise it really is expensive. It is starting to hit them in the pocket.

"The cost of living has gone up but wages haven't gone up."

Ms Epapara said more needed to be done to help people quit.

"There needs to be more people working in smoking cessation. It is full on, one-on-one support," she said.

"Quitline works for some people but there are still a lot of people that need face-to-face support. If there were a few more in that role, that would help big time."

Nationally the number of smokers committing to quit was up 345 over last year. In the first 19 days of January this year 4034 New Zealanders signed up to the smoking cessation service - a 9.2 per cent increase on the previous year.

Quitline communications manager Sarah Woods said the rise in people signing up to the service was mostly due to a 10 per cent increase in excise on tobacco products which came into effect on January 1.

"The way it works is that tobacco companies pay the 10 per cent excise tax and then they can pass on whatever they want to the consumer so it doesn't mean that all cigarettes brands are going to go up by 10 per cent.

"For example, last year the cheaper brands went up by about 3 per cent but this year they have gone up by 21 per cent.

"For a packet of 20 cigarettes from a lower-cost brand, they have gone up by $3.80 which is an awful lot for a packet of 20 and for someone who is a heavy smoker that is a lot of extra money."

Ms Woods said the increase was part of a large-scale effort to reduce smoking statistics to less than 5 per cent by 2025.

"We are really pleased to see the increase because that is in the context of a declining smoking population. In the 2006 census 20.7 per cent of the population smoked and in the 2013 census that figure had dropped to 15.1 per cent," she said.

- For help to stop smoking, talk to your local health provider or call Quitline on 0800 778 778, or www.quit.org.nz