Āti Awa Toa Hauora Partnership Board opposes moves to push vaping on Māori providers as rangatahi harm escalates
The Āti Awa Toa Hauora Partnership Board is condemning moves to pressure Māori health providers into supplying vaping products as part of quit-smoking services, warning that it puts whānau health at risk and undermines kaupapa Māori approaches to hauora.
The board stands alongside Takiri Mai te Ata Trust, following Whatu Ora’s announcement threatening to end the trust’s smokefree contract if they don’t supply vaping devices.
“We fully support the Trust’s work to help whānau quit smoking in ways that are safe, sustainable, and aligned with their oranga values and kaupapa. Encouraging young people to remain addicted to nicotine is not a kaupapa we support,” said board Manahautū, Hikitia Ropata.
The board’s recently released Whānau Voice report showed whānau across the region were deeply concerned about the impact vaping was having on young people.
Takiri Mai te Ata Trust has supported whānau across Wellington, Porirua and Te Awa Kairangi for decades through culturally grounded stop-smoking programmes. The Trust has declined to distribute vaping products, citing concerns about nicotine addiction, rangatahi harm, and the normalisation of vaping in community and marae settings.
Ms Ropata says the reality on the ground and across communities is already clear.
“Our rangatahi are not quitting smoking and switching to vaping – most are starting out as vapers and have never smoked. Vapes are cheaper than cigarettes.”
Recent data shows that the highest vaping rates in Aotearoa are now among 14-year-old Māori girls.
“This is not harm reduction. This is government support for addiction.”
Ms Ropata says the Whaitua geo-mapping tool shows us vaping products are heavily concentrated in lower-income communities, with vape shops found close to kura and schools, making nicotine addiction highly visible and accessible to young people.
“Normalising vaping in our communities means siding with tobacco companies over our most vulnerable whānau, our tamariki and rangatahi.”
The Board is calling on the Government to work in partnership with providers, not against them.
“Māori health providers must be trusted to exercise kaupapa-based judgement informed by whānau voices.”
Whaitua Geo-Mapping Tool: https://reports.hqsc.govt.nz/
Whānau Voice Report: https://atiawatoaimpb.nz
For more information contact Christine Ammunson 0274457333 or christine.ammunson@roheora.nz