Marnie Wilton, Vape-Free Kids NZ Co-founder:
Thank you to everyone for coming today. Ngā mihi nui to Matua Tahuri for blessing our event and to all of our speakers for giving their time and support to this Rally. A big thank you to Health Coalition Aotearoa, Aspire Aotearoa and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation for being our wonderful event supporters.
I want to say a very special thanks to Sukhdeep Singh. Sukhdeep has worked so hard to inspire and make this event a reality. We so appreciate all your mahi Sukhdeep!
And also a very special thank you to Kerry Low who wrote the petition about the vape store in Otāne. It's no mean feat to get over 500 signatures from a town of 700 people, and whilst the vape store did open in his town, Kerry I want you to know your efforts were not in vain because what you have done has inspired me to keep going with this fight for our kids.
I hope it inspires all of you too.
Because this rally is only the beginning - until our kids are protected from vaping we will continue to raise our voices and speak for their futures.
It is awesome you all came today because it shows you care and you are concerned. And we need to keep the momentum going.
I want to ask you all here today to do one thing - if we all do one thing it will add up. Kerry's one thing was a HUGE one thing - but yours doesn't have to be huge - small things add up if we all get behind this!
Your one thing could be to send an email your MP - let them know you are concerned about youth vaping, that you are concerned about all the vape shops that are still located by our schools, about the lack of support for our addicted children. Ask your MP to take action and make this issue a priority. They are your elected representative and they have a responsibility to their constituents.
Your one thing could be to join our facebook group - vapefreekidsnz. You might wonder what the point of joining a facebook group is, what effect that will have on the issue? But I will say to you now, if it wasn't for that group, this rally would not be happening today.
In May 2023 we started off with only five mums and we now have over 2,000 members in the group.
The point of the group is it creates a community of people working together for change. It brings us together. It's how we connected with all the many many people across Aotearoa concerned about youth vaping, and all the wonderful speakers that are here today.
It's a place where anyone concerned about youth vaping - whether they be whānau, teachers, health workers or rangatahi themselves, can connect and share ideas. From these ideas we can take action and call for change. So please join the group, please share amongst your contacts.
Tobacco companies have very large budgets, paid employees and incredible resources to push their products to our children.
Vape-Free Kids NZ is entirely voluntary, we do this in our own time, through the dedication of volunteers. We don't have money and resources but we have people, we have you.
There is nothing that the tobacco companies would like more than to see us give up - and that, that is what keeps us going.
So please join the group - share the group and let us know your ideas
Above all, don't stop making noise - we are the voice that is speaking for our future generations.
Ngā mihi nui
Chris Proctor, Hastings Youth Councillor:
Rangatahi and Rangatira are gathered here today in the collective spirit of belief that the health and the health of our children, their children and all future generations, matters.
It matters today just as much as it will tomorrow. 70 years ago, smoking was considered a norm across society; rangatahi were exposed to smoking in public spaces, schools, restaurants, cars and living rooms.
People fought for change back then, hoping that one day they would no longer have to. Because we don’t want to be here. And yet, here we are again 70 years later, fighting again. Once again standing up against the regressive laws that harm our rangatahi.
Those who know me personally will know that I’m a pretty keen runner. I used to run in the school team with a really good mate of mine. Let’s call him Jack. Since my time at high school, Jack and I used to have running competitions and we’d compete tooth and nail to win whatever race we were in.
It was never about getting a placing in the race, but much more about beating each other whenever we could. But after some time, Jack couldn’t keep up any more, he fell behind in race after race and eventually he didn’t turn up to training at all. And some time later he confessed to me that he’d got addicted to vaping, and his lung health was down in the dumps.
He got to a point where he needed his daily fix of nicotine to even function. I was pretty scared for him. And Jack has fought his battle with addiction and is coming out the other side, many don’t. I’ve had so many mates at school that have fallen into the vaping trap and really seriously regretted it.
I’m here today, alongside you to call on our leaders, from council to cabinet to take this seriously. Because rangatahi matter.
So, let’s make vapes prescription only. Let’s scrap enticing labels. Let’s limit stores. Let’s ban disposables. Let’s set nicotine limits. It’s really not that hard! In doing so we have nothing to lose but everything to gain.
This work really matters, and I want to thank all of you for coming out today and supporting it. We have to keep standing up day after day, and trust me, one day our work will pay off.
Kia Ora.
Crystal Lau, Health Promoter/Educator at the NZ Cancer Society:
Tena koutou katoa, E mahi ana au ki Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Te Matau a Māui, Ko Toi Tū Te Whenua (Health Promoter) toku mahi, he kaimahi mo auahi kore mana motuhake ki Te Matau a Māui, Ko Crystal tōku ingoa, no reira tena koutou katoa.
It’s an enormous pleasure to be here today with like-minded allies.
Everyone agrees that the best way to deal with ill health is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
That’s why, in 2011, the then-National-led government set an ambitious goal to make this country Smokefree by 2025.
Sadly, smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of cancer in New Zealand and results in more than 20% of all cancer-related deaths each year.
As we are tackling smoking, we need to address a growing threat – the growth of vaping among tamariki. Research indicates that vaping may lead to smoking among young people. So far, we have not seen this occur in New Zealand, but it’s important to keep a close eye on smoking and vaping trends.
Our school nurses have observed that many rangatahi are still addicted to vaping high nicotine vape products, which are often shared amongst friends. They find it challenging to go through a school day without vaping. Some students are willing to quit vaping but have been unsuccessful in their attempts.
This is a rising trend we need to stop, whether its disposable vapes marketed to tamariki with bright colours, cheap options, sweet flavours, colourful cartoon designs – or vape products being sold that are easily accessible by children.
Today, we call on the government to strengthen its efforts in preventing children from getting addicted to vaping. My message is this: let’s be on track towards our Smokefree 2025 goal and protect our tamariki from starting to vape and getting hooked on nicotine.
Thank you.
All photos credited to E Roberts
