Wagner Nicky: Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Wagner Nicky: Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to support the Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill and I thank the Hon Tariana Turia for all the work that she has done in this area. This bill sends an important message to the public that the Government is committed to reducing the harm caused by smoking. We want people to quit smoking and we are so serious about the issue that we have designated helping smokers to quit as one of the six health targets of every district health board across the country. 
We are also assisting district health boards to help patients quit smoking by spending $50 million a year on tobacco control and smoking cessation. The money is used to fund the nationwide Quitline and to target smoking for Maori Pacific and pregnancy services. Importantly the Government has mandated a sharp increase in the price of tobacco. 
Grant Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. The member has been speaking for a couple of minutes now— 
NICKY WAGNER 
: Thirty seconds. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will be seated please. I say to the member on my right that when a point of order is taken it is to be terse and to the point and there are to be no interruptions. It is heard in silence. 
Grant Robertson 
: My point of order is that the member in the brief time she has been speaking has not managed to talk about the bill but rather about various other aspects of National policy. You sat me down when I was part-way through talking about a Supplementary Order Paper on this bill. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member makes a valid point. The member had been speaking for only a minute. I was giving her an opportunity but she should focus on the bill. 
Chris Tremain 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. This is somewhat rich. We have listened to a number of speeches from the other side of the Chamber that have swayed into all manner of different policy areas. Sue Moroney was getting into the area of capital gains tax and all sorts of things but that was not pulled up by members on this side of the Chamber. It is a broad-ranging debate and if we are to get into that space we will be happy to stand up and make sure that Opposition members are closer to the bill. Thank you. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the member for his contribution. We need to look at the context in which the bill is heard and that means looking at how the Committee is operating as well. I ask the member to try though to speak to the bill because that is why we are here. 
NICKY WAGNER 
: The main purpose of this bill is to prohibit the display of tobacco products and to increase and enforce controls on tobacco. The aims are twofold: to reduce the uptake of smoking and to help smokers quit. I have made a comment that the increased tobacco tax has driven a real change in behaviour to force people to quit. The number of calls to and quit attempts coming through Quitline have increased by 50 percent since the tobacco tax was introduced and the number of people accessing smoking cessation treatments is up 82 percent in 18 months so that is real progress. 
Research clearly shows that display and advertising promotes the attractiveness of smoking and encourages more people to smoke and more people to smoke more often. Most smokers take up smoking when they are young and perhaps most vulnerable to advertising. Virtually no one takes up smoking after they are 25 years of age so it makes sense to try to prevent young people for as long as possible from taking up the habit. This bill will help to do that. 
The prohibition of the display of tobacco products comes into force 12 months after the bill becomes law but there is a further 12-month transition period for particular classes of business. But in a very short time we will expect to see the delivery of no advertising and that will lead to a further reduction of smoking in New Zealand. I commend this bill to the Committee.