Hāpainga leads country with wāhine Māori stop smoking support
A new stop smoking service developed
by Hāpainga specifi cally for young
wāhine Māori in the Bay of Plenty is
leading the country and other services
are looking to follow. Results show 86% of these women are smokefree
by the end of the course verifi ed by a Carbon
Monoxide (CO) breath monitor.
While there has been signifi cant progress in
reducing smoking in New Zealand, statistics show
this hasn’t been achieved across all population
groups, particularly young wāhine Māori under the
age of 30. The group of 18-30 year olds is given vapes as
a quit smoking tool with the level of nicotine
gradually reduced each week, so by week six they
are nicotine free.
In a bid to improve this, the Ministry of Health
has recently taken a new approach of talking to
young Māori women and listening to their stories
to gain a better understanding about the barriers
aff ecting their ability to quit smoking. From these
discussions, it’s developed new guidelines Ka Pū
te Ruha, ka Hao te Rangatahi. Hāpainga is the fi rst
of 16 stop smoking services across New Zealand
to adopt those guidelines, creating an Escape via
Vape group for young wāhine Māori wanting to quit
smoking in the Bay of Plenty.
Hāpainga Team Lead, Lizzie Spence says, “We
knew we had to try something completely new. Our
stop smoking practitioners work closely with young
women in small groups over six weeks, identifying
the issues that matter to them. What they want to
address in becoming a healthier, happier person.”
Lizzie, who was on the ministry led national
working group developing the guidelines says, “It’s
a more holistic view of wellbeing to support these
young women to become smokefree. The results so
far have been fantastic and we are thrilled to be able
to share our experiences with other services across
New Zealand.”
Word of mouth, Facebook and other social media
platforms were used to spread the word about
Escape via Vape to the intended target group.
Hāpainga Stop Smoking Practitioner Stevie-Lee
Hiroki says, “We also encourage the girls to talk
to their friends, bring them too. This helps to
create a relaxed friendly atmosphere and the
chances of successfully quitting improve when
it’s a team eff ort.
“The group also cook healthy kai together, talk
about the importance of looking after one’s health
and have a pamper session.”
Shyann Hunt is now proudly smokefree, after
doing the course which she, initially, had no
intention of doing.
“I was only at the class because my pregnant sister
needed a ride and I didn’t want to sit in the car
waiting for her. After an hour and half, it was so
much fun I wanted to join in and give it a go. At
end of the 6 weeks I am smokefree.”
Above: Pita and Shyann
who are smokefree after
joining the Hāpainga Stop
Smoking Support Group.
She’s grateful for the support received from Stevie-
Lee and Stop Smoking Practitioner Tahnee Kaata.
Sentiments echoed by Pita Tawha
“Stevie and Tahnee are amazing they both created
an environment where confi dentiality and support
was paramount. They are beautiful educators, who
are not judgemental and listened to what we had
to say.”
You’ll fi nd more
information on
the Hāpainga Stop
Smoking Service
Facebook page.
PREPARE IN ADVANCE WHEN IT COMES TO
HEALTHCARE THIS CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
Preparation and using your options wisely are the keys to good
health and helping out your healthcare services this Christmas
and New Year.
Our population increases over the holiday season, as does the
demand on local health services, and you can help yourself and
others with a little planning and forethought.
basic paracetamol gives you something to use to either avoid
medical assistance, or help while you seek medical support.
If you do need medical assistance over the holiday period,
choosing where to access it can save you time and money.
“It’s a really good idea to prepare yourself before the holiday
period,” says Dr Joe Bourne, a GP for Ngā Kākano Foundation in
Te Puke. “Make sure you have enough of your repeat medicines
because it clogs up the Emergency Department (ED) to go in if
you run out of them. We need to keep ED for emergencies.” “It’s about options,” says Dr Bourne. “If you’re injured; with a
sprained ankle, sore back or sore neck, for example, then a
physiotherapist is often a better fi rst option rather than a GP.
A physio has specialised knowledge in these areas and can
start treatment leading to a faster recovery. Also many
community physiotherapists will offer a free fi rst consultation
for ACC issues.”
If you are heading out of town camping or on holiday, packing
some of the basics such as plasters, antiseptic cream and some Likewise, a pharmacist is often a good fi rst port of call for
minor illnesses.
“For many minor illnesses such as coughs and colds, sore
throat, sore eyes, scrapes and scratches, a pharmacist is a
great option. And many pharmacies have longer opening hours
over the holiday period,” says Dr Bourne.
Bay of Plenty residents needing healthcare advice are reminded
they can phone their GP day or night. A nurse triage service
answering after-hours calls is in place for all the Bay’s GPs.
“Calling your doctor and getting transferred to the nurse can
help you confi rm if you need to go into ED or reassure you that
you can wait until your regular GP is available”.
Christmas
- New Year
Pharmacy hours
Christmas Day
Ōpōtiki Pharmacy
open 10am - midday
Boxing Day
Whakatāne Life Pharmacy
open 10am to 2pm
Ōpōtiki Pharmacy
open 10am - midday
New Year’s Day
Whakatāne Unichem
Adamsons Pharmacy
open 10:30am -1pm
and 2:30-4:30pm
Ōpōtiki Pharmacy
open 10am – midday
Thursday 2 Januar y
Whakatane Unichem
Adamsons Pharmacy
open 10:30am-1pm
and 2:30-4:30pm
Whakatāne Life Pharmacy
open 10am-2pm
Ōpōtiki Pharmacy
open 10am – midday
Kawerau Pharmacy
open 8:30-5:30pm