Stamping out smoking nurses' focus

Nurses want to stamp out smoking among their patients- believe it is part of their job to help people to quit

12 August 2007
Nurses are joining forces in a new bid to stamp out smoking. There are around 600,000 smokers in New Zealand and it is thought at least half of them will die early because of their habit. A new report shows 90 percent of nurses here believe it is part of their job to help patients stop smoking, but under half of them have the training to do it.

Grace Wong is a nurse, and the author of the report into the attitudes of nurses towards smoking. She says a new group, 'Nurses for a Smokefree Aotearoa', is calling for more training. It was launched yesterday.

Grace Wong says only 14 percent of nurses smoke these days, down from 18 percent in 1996. However mental health nurses are over-represented in the statistics, with 29 percent of them smoking. Ms Wong says there is one nurse for every 14 smokers in New Zealand so there is no reason the whole country can not be smokefree.

The Ministry of Health is due to release smoking cessation guidelines later this month.



She says there is one nurse for every 14 smokers in New Zealand so there's no reason the whole country can't be smokefree.

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