Hutchison Paul: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Hutchison Paul: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:610;Page:7944] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (NZ National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 I say with great conviction that “enhanced protection” is absolutely right because we have had a history of people in this country not having protection from second-hand smoke. Just a little while ago we heard the Hon Winston Peters scoffing at the evidence that second-hand smoke is a reality and so did David Carter for that matter. However we know from very clear epidemiological studies right around the world of a whole area of organ systems—particularly the cardiovascular system if not the respiratory system—that it has a significant effect on shortening people’s lives. More so than that if we think of the statistics in New Zealand we know that 75 percent of people do not smoke and 25 percent do. But of those 25 percent who do smoke 50 percent or more are young Maori women. Many in that category become pregnant and they impose a significant problem on their unborn foetuses. 
Hon Dover Samuels 
: You don’t get pregnant by smoking! 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: I heard the member for Rotorua saying that there was something like—[ 
Interruption 
] The member is absolutely right but this is not a flippant issue because the member for Rotorua did point out a mortality rate of about 50. I do not know whether it is necessarily that but more important is the sub-clinical pathology imposed on young New Zealanders and it is very significant. In fact the number of babies who die is miniscule in comparison with the number of children born with conditions like intrauterine growth and retardation that seriously affects all organ systems. Those children set off in life with a profound disadvantage. 
One might say that young pregnant women do not go to clubs bars casinos and restaurants. The truth of the matter is that they do and that an unborn foetus has no say whatsoever in the situation. 
Hon David Carter 
: They shouldn’t be drinking. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: They should not be drinking. However the point I am making is that we would hope that all New Zealand children had the chance to achieve their potential although a significant number of them are severely penalised right from the start. The bill’s title which suggests enhanced protection is absolutely spot on in trying to provide New Zealand children with that extra opportunity to achieve their full potential. 
I mentioned in the second reading that there is a real clash in terms of the freedom of the individual. Surely libertarian philosophy states quite clearly that the individual should have as much freedom as possible provided it does no harm and there is absolutely no doubt that second-hand smoke does harm. If one then transposes that to the children of this nation then the effect is profound. This bill has significant provisions to ensure that right from preschools to schools to secondary schools—sadly universities are not entirely protected or do not have the degree of enforcement that earlier education institutions have but they do have significant ones—