Will’s Word: Smoking’s reduced but Pasifika continue to pay the highest price in NZ

So new numbers out this week on smoking in Aotearoa and for Pasifika, it's one of those stories that ultimately looks good at first glance until you take a closer look under the hood.

The smoking rate for Pacific adults has dropped dramatically over the past few years, and that's real progress. I don't want to diminish that. Healthcare workers, communities, churches and our community in general have been pushing hard, and the figures don't lie.

But here's the kicker, and I'm sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but even after all that effort, Pasifika are still smoking at twice the national average. Twice. That's why we can't quite celebrate yet, and might I also say that if you are someone who smokes on a personal level, I don't necessarily mind or care.

There are lots of people in my life that I know who smoke, and I'm not telling you how to live your life, but I know that there is a real effort to try to stop people from smoking. So when the rest of the country is sprinting ahead ,we're still being somewhat left behind.

That’s not equity to me, that's a gap that's becoming normalised, and frankly, it shouldn't be. Some health leaders have been quick to call it out, saying it's unacceptable, and they're right because a community is losing people far too early, and kids are growing up around habits they shouldn't have to see, some would argue.

Then there's vaping. While smoking has gone down daily, vaping for Pasifika has exploded by 20 per cent. That's a more than five-fold jump, and so yes, fewer cigarettes, but a whole new dependency replacing the old one.

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We still don't know the long-term impact of vaping. The truth is, the progress is promising, but it's not enough. Not when Pacific people continue to carry the biggest burden of preventable disease.

Not when the systems, the services and the messaging still aren't reaching everyone. Not when heavy smoking is actually increasing for some.

That's Will's Word.