Ben Youdan
Smoking numbers show slight increase in latest Health Survey
Smoking rates have risen very slightly compared with last year in the latest annual Health Survey. Director of Action for Smokefree 2025 Ben Youdan spoke to Corin Dann. Audio
Vaping can help NZ become smokefree says Action for Smokefree 2025
Labour wants to reduce the number of vape stores to 600 countrywide, if elected. In a new policy released this morning, the party says it would eliminate more than half of specialist vape retailers.
… Audio
Vapers struggling to find help
Vapers looking to quit are struggling to find the help they need.
Te Whatu Ora is directing increasing numbers of people who have never smoked cigarettes but are addicted to vaping, to stop smoking… Audio
Excluding kids from school for smoking and vaping won't work - advocates
A rise in students being stood down from school last year was driven by smoking and vaping, according to figures from the Ministry of Education.
Almost 3000 more students were stood down last year… Audio
Private school battles with nicotine-addict vaping students
A private Waikato school says the R18 restriction on vaping nicotine isn't working and it is treating dozens of students who are addicted to the drug through vaping.
St Peter's Cambridge says the… Audio
Vaping Nicotine a problem for private school
A private school has warned that as many as 70 of its students have become addicted to nicotine through vaping. St Peters Cambridge says teens are getting around the R18 restriction on vapes… Audio
A third of vape advisory group are industry representatives
The Electronic Cigarette Technical Expert Advisory Group includes a vaping business owner, a purchaser of e-cigarettes for a retail store and the director of another vaping company.
While six other… Audio
Principals worrried by teen vaping epidemic
Auckland secondary school principals are backing the government's plan to ban sweet vape flavours. They say it will help curb an epidemic of vaping among teenagers at some schools. The government is… Audio
E-cig boutiques feel the burn from big tobacco
Big tobacco companies have been stepping up advertising for their vaping products. Local e-cigarette businesses and anti-smoking groups say the aggressive marketing campaigns are a bid to maximize… Audio
Tobacco companies step up advertising for e-cigarette products
An amendment to the Smokefree Environment Act to control how vaping can be advertised is expected to go before Parliament next month. Local vaping businesses and anti-smoking groups say aggressive… Audio
DHBs warned not to accept vaping products from tobacco giant
District health boards have been warned by the Health Ministry not to accept an offer from global tobacco giant Philip Morris to supply smokeless tobacco products to people trying to quit cigarettes… Audio
Is vaping the answer to New Zealand’s ‘smoke-free by 2025’ campaign?
Is the government swapping one bad habit for another by encouraging smokers to move to vaping, as a way of curing their addiction? Audio
Is vaping the answer to New Zealand’s ‘smoke-free by 2025’ campaign?
Is the government swapping one bad habit for another by encouraging smokers to move to vaping, as a way of curing their addiction?
AudioRaising the smoking age
There's a proposal in the UK to raise the smoking age to 21. A health expert says the most vital element for lowering smoking rates is to prevent young people from starting in the first place. Ben… Audio
Tobacco giant's plan 'won't make a dfference' - advocate
An anti-smoking advocate says a tobacco company's plan to pull cigarettes from shelves, won't make a difference to the market or their business. Audio
Too many young people vaping: respiratory specialist
Respiratory specialists say they're alarmed at the rise of vaping among young people who don't understand the health risks. Next year a proposed law change would see restrictions on flavoured and… Audio
US talks tough on tobacco in trade talks with NZ
The United States says it wants a trade deal involving New Zealand to contain provisions that would make it harder to sue governments for introducing anti-smoking measures. Audio
Plain packaging for cigarettes
The Government has agreed in principle to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes. Audio
Tobacco industry campaign for presence in convenience stores
The role the tobacco industry is playing in campaigns by convenience stores against plans to toughen the laws on the sale of cigarettes. With Ben Youdan - Director of Action on Smoking and Health… Audio
Rebuilding Christchurch
With John Jackson The Principal of construction monitoring company Pacifecon, who was involved in the rebuild of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Also with Canterbury Master Builders Association… Audio
