The New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey (NZTUS) is the first nationally representative survey of tobacco use to be conducted in New Zealand. It is comprehensive, providing accurate and robust estimates of prevalence and smoking behaviour. The NZTUS is an essential part of the New Zealand Health Monitor and contributes vital information for the monitoring of tobacco use, consumption, behaviours and attitudes in New Zealand.
The NZTUS 2006 report presents information about all aspects of the survey, methodology and implementation. Descriptive statistics are reported by key demographics, which include gender, ethnicity and age-group. Where possible, statistics are broken down by level of socioeconomic deprivation, smoking status, age stage, education, occupation, income and DHB.
Purpose
ObjectivesThe objectives of the NZTUS are to:
- provide a measure for the prevalence of smoking annually
- collect valid and reliable measures of tobacco use, including consumption, initiation, addiction, quitting, relapse and exposure to second-hand smoke
- collect comprehensive measures of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about tobacco smoking and control
- provide reliable measures for populations of interest: New Zealand Māori, Pacific and Asian peoples, and 15- to 19-year-olds
- monitor changes in tobacco use, quitting behaviour and attitudes and beliefs about tobacco over time.
Key Results
Exposure to Second-hand Smoke:- The prevalence of others smoking inside the home in New Zealand is 12.5%
- Significantly more Māori report others smoking inside the home, 23.0% compared to 10.9% non-Māori
- Around 14.9% of people report others as smoking inside the car
- Significantly more Māori identify others as smoking in the car, 30.1% compared to 12.6% non-Māori
- The prevalence of smoking inside at work is around 8.1%; whilst 89.4% report no one smoking indoors at work
- Plant machine operators and assemblers identified the largest percentage of indoor smoking at work, 10.6% followed by trades workers 9.5%
- Around 7.4% of people report others smoking indoors in public venues
Cessation and Behaviour Support:
- Around 65% of smokers in New Zealand have made a quit attempt in the last 5 years.
- High percentages of Māori, (67.8%) and Pacific smokers (59.9%) have made quit attempts in the last 5 years.
- Of smokers who had ever deliberately quit for more than a week, 36.3% did not make any quit attempts and around 33.4% quit once in the previous 12 months.
- Around 26.0% of smokers received some form of advice on how to quit smoking and 26.5% of smokers used some form of quitting product during their last quit attempt.
- Around 38.0% of people agree with the statement that smokers who fail to quit do not really want to quit, compared to 27.5% who disagree.
- Around 38.0% of people disagree withthe statement that people should be able to quit without the help of programmes or products, compared to around 28.0% who agree with it.
Youth:
- The mean age of smoking initiation among New Zealand youth is 14.6 years.
- Most youth smokers (74.2%) purchase cigarettes themselves.
- Two thirds, (66.7%) of youth smokers had their first cigarette with friends
- Significantly higher percentages of youths who smoke daily, report mothers, fathers, siblings or girlfriends and boyfriends as being smokers, compared to youths who have never smoked.
- Significantly higher percentages of Māori youth report mothers, fathers, siblings or girlfriends and boyfriends as being smokers, compared to non-Māori.
- Overall, the majority of youth, (72.3%) would not smoke if they had their lives over.
- Overall, around 85.0% of youth reported that they would not be smokers in their 20s.