Media Release
From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)Key points:
· Between 2013 and 2015 an estimated 12,421 (13.4% of all deaths) were attributable to smoking. Nearly one in four (22.6%) deaths among Maori were attributable to smoking (2,199 out of 9,717 deaths) and nearly one in seven (13.8%) among Pacific people (512 out of 3,720 deaths).
· Higher rates of smoking attributable mortality were responsible for 2.1 years of the life expectancy gap in Maori men, 2.3 years in Maori women, 1.4 years in Pacific men and 0.3 years among Pacific women.
· Cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischaemic heart disease were the leading smoking attributable causes of death contributing to the gap.
· Smoking is an important preventable risk factor contributing to ethnic inequities in life expectancy for Maori men and women, and Pacific men.
· Preventing smoking initiation and increasing cessation rates must remain a top priority for the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards.
Summary
Our study provides an updated assessment of the burden of smoking-related mortality in New Zealand for deaths registered from 2013 to 2015 and examines the contribution of these deaths to the life expectancy gap in the Māori and Pacific populations compared with the non-Māori/non-Pacific population. Over this time, 13.4% of deaths were potentially attributable to smoking.
Among Māori, 22.6% of deaths were potentially attributable to smoking, compared with 13.8% of deaths among Pacific peoples and 12.3% among non-Māori/non-Pacific people. We estimate that smoking attributable deaths contributed 2.1 years to the life expectancy gap in Māori men, 2.3 years in Māori women (nearly one third), 1.4 years of Pacific men (one quarter) and 0.3 years in Pacific women.
Smoking remains an important preventable risk factor contributing to ethnic inequities in life expectancy for Māori men and women, and Pacific men. Addressing this inequity needs to remain a top health priority. In order to achieve health equity and the Smokefree 2025 goal, a Tiriti o Waitangi compliant response inclusive of targeted investment and expansion of Māori and Pacific tobacco control programmes is required.
