Campaigns from 'white middle-class women'





Dr Glover believes current campaigns to stop Māori women smoking are not working as the messages are not designed for their demographic.

"Most of the people working in health promotion in New Zealand are white middle-class women. They are not the best messages, they are not getting through, they are not effective at reaching these mums," she told The AM Show.

In a report released in July, the Waitangi Tribunal found the Crown was breaching the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to provide adequate healthcare to Māori.

Associate Minister Salesa said in February that the legislation would be backed up by a public-education effort.

"Ultimately, the focus of this change will be on education and changing social norms - not on issuing infringement notices," she said.

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Dr Glover's opposition to the law change has shocked Titoki Black, the former Kōhanga Trust chief executive, who said she couldn't wrap her head around it.

"To hear someone with the calibre of Dr Marewa Glover condemning a law change around smoking in cars just shocks me," she told Newshub.

"It is just shocking. I just can't believe that we would use a Māori card as an excuse to not have the policy. I just can't get my head around it."

She was also surprised by the comment that there was no evidence that smoking in cars was linked to disease, saying that not only was secondhand smoke poor for health, but the lingering smell normalises tobacco use.

"It is not good for the children because they will think it is just a normal smell and get used to it and think it should be around them all the time."

Black believes it is time mothers stepped up and got the message that smoking isn't healthy. She says with the right message - regardless of who is delivering it - that can be achieved.

"We should be promoting no smoking full stop and in cars should be the ultimate ban of all bans," she said.

"I don't think it's what colour you are, I just think it's your approach, how you handle the message."

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft said the health benefits of banning smoking in cars was "unarguable".

"I think the starting point must be what is best for our children. The health benefits are unarguable. We know that up to 100,000 New Zealand kids are exposed to secondhand smoke each week," he told The AM Show.

"If we want to bring about a health change for our New Zealand children. This is the way to do it."

He said it was a positive move for Māori children, but understood there was often a concern about new laws taking an "overly overt heavy criminal approach" with fines.

But Becroft doesn't believe that will be the case with this legislation.

"It will need good education. What the law does is put a line in the sand, if you cross that there are consequences. No one is expecting infringement notices to rain out of the sky."

Police officers can provide warnings to individuals found to have been smoking in a car with a child.

Newshub.