Cancer Society of New Zealand

Smokefree Wellington Region

The Wellington Division of the Cancer Society is actively involved in promoting Smokefree in the Wellington, Kapiti, Wairarapa, Marlborough and Nelson areas.  Our primary areas of work are listed below.

Our Smokefree Work

• CanQuit Support Programme for Smokers: For people wanting to quit smoking, we run the CanQuit Support Programmes to help people succeed. More...
• CanQuit Practice for Health Professionals: For professionals wanting to learn how to incorporate quitting information into their practice the CanQuit Practice training is available. More...
• Smokefree Councils: Together with our partners we are working to encourage local Councils to make their outdoor spaces smokefree including playgrounds. The Upper Hutt City Council was one of the first Councils in New Zealand to pass a policy making all of its parks, reserves, playgrounds and sports fields smokefree in May 2006. They were followed by Kapiti District Council in September 2008 which made its parks, playgrounds, sports fields and events smokefree. The Cancer Society continues to work with other Councils in other part of the region to adopt similar policies to encourage positive smokefree role modelling for our children. More... 
• Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Protect Our Children from Tobacco Marketing: The Cancer Society is working to extinguish one of the last bastions of tobacco advertising allowed in New Zealand - tobacco displays in shops. Currently cigarettes are openly promoted at the check-out in thousands of dairies, petrol stations, and supermarkets around the country despite clear evidence that these displays make young people more likely to become smokers. In the Wellington region the Cancer Society has been working with other local community groups to raise awareness of this important issue and encourage supporters to take action. We have organised screenings of the Cancer Society DVD 'Out of Sight - Out of Mind: Protect Our Children from Tobacco Marketing' and encouraged our supporters to write to their local MPs. More... 
• Smokefree Youth Ambassadors:  Around three quarters of young people support a ban on tobacco displays. Through our Youth Ambassadors programme the Cancer Society is enabling young people to get involved in the 'Out of Sight - Out of Mind' campaign. Groups have been established in the Kapiti Coast, Wellington and the Wairarapa with members spearheading local action such as writing letters to MPs, developing radio adverts and getting petitions signed within their schools. More... 
• Quit Smoking for a Better Life: We are working with a variety of social services to encourage more quit attemtps more often. More...

Our partners

The Cancer Society works collaboratively with other agencies through local Smokefree Networks including the following:

• Smokefree Wellington Network
• Smokefree Wairarapa Network
• Smokefree Nelson Network
• Smokefree Blenheim Network 

National Cancer Society Smokefree Information

For more smokefree information visit the Cancer Society's Smokefree homepage which includes information about quitting smoking, keeping children smokefree, smoking and cancer, smokefree legislation, fact sheets and our smokefree work around the country. More...

For more information about the Smokefree work of the Wellington Division of the Cancer Society contact Leanne Campbell.