Want To Prevent Cancer & Reduce Cancer-Related Morbidity? Adoption of a tobacco harm reduction approach can help

A submission that seeks to highlight the importance of supporting evidence-informed methods that can more rapidly than ever before assist people to stop smoking. The first section of this submission recaps why reducing tobacco smoking needs to remain a top priority for intervention if the New Zealand Government truly wants to reduce the incidence of cancer overall, and particularly if reducing the health inequities between non-Māori and Māori is a genuine goal. Following consideration of the role of institutional racism, I will discuss the inadequacy of the Eurocentric tobacco control programme that is in itself a barrier to reducing smoking among Māori. I then lay out the rationale for the adoption of a harm reduction approach to tobacco smoking. A Māori tobacco control strategy designed by Māori smoking cessation experts and key informants is also needed. To conclude, I make a number of recommendations that should be seen as a compliment to the many other care and treatment related improvements other submitters will put forward. Assisting the more rapid reduction of smoking is just one important cancer prevention strategy that needs to be done.I want to thank Dr Paramanathen for his help with writing draft content. In June 2018, I founded my own independent Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking after receiving a grant from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, an independent nonprofit organization whose purpose is to improve global health by ending smoking in this generation. The Foundation has a pledge agreement with Philip Morris International (PMI) that secures funding and ensures complete autonomy to pursue its mission to end smoking in this generation. PMI and the tobacco industry, generally, are precluded from having any control or influence over how the Foundation spends its funds or focuses its activities. Independence is explicitly outlined in the Foundation's bylaws. The research produced by the Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking, the contents, selection and presentation of facts, as well as any opinions expressed on the Centre's website, or in its presentations and publications are the sole responsibility of the Centre and its authors and under no circumstances shall be regarded as reflecting the position of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Inc