In an age where smoking is becoming increasingly frowned upon, banned and distasteful, there’s one sector of the New Zealand community where evidence suggests the message isn’t getting through fast enough:
31% of Maori deaths are due to cigarette smoking
46% of Maori are regular smokers compared to 21% of non-Maori
Dying For A Smoke is an in-depth investigation into New Zealand’s smoking problem, specifically focusing on smoking among Maori but also looking at trends within the wider community. It features personal stories of smokers - people like Natasha who started smoking when she was very young: