Date/Time
Date(s) - Tue 16 June
9:00 - 10:00
Overview
Health Coalition Aotearoa’s third webinar in the Investing in Health series exploring the future of nicotine regulation in Aotearoa NZ.
Aotearoa once led the world on smokefree policy. Today, questions about vaping, youth nicotine use, industry influence and the future of tobacco regulation are increasingly contested.
This webinar brings together leading public health experts from Aotearoa and Australia to examine where nicotine policy goes next — and what an effective regulatory framework should look like in a rapidly changing environment.
This webinar will explore:
what effective nicotine regulation looks like now
lessons from Aotearoa and Australia
the balance between smoking cessation and youth protection
the role of industry and commercial influence
and the policy settings needed to reduce long-term harm.
The session will be a moderated, question-led discussion followed by audience Q&A.
Speakers
Professor Janet Hoek
Janet Hoek is a professor of public health at the University of Otago, Wellington; she co-directs ASPIRE Aotearoa, a University of Otago Research Centre, and Te Tupu o te Harakeke, a Health Research Council programme. She has received funding from the HRC, Cancer Society and Marsden fund, and is a member of several NHMRC funded projects and centres. She has explored on-pack smoking warnings and plain packaging, endgame measures including denicotinisation, reducing tobacco availability, and the smokefree generation policy; she has a strong interest in novel nicotine products and tobacco industry interferences. Janet serves on national and international research and policy advisory groups, and is currently a Senior Editor at Tobacco Control, the leading tobacco policy journal. She received the Universities New Zealand 2022 Critic and Conscience of Society Award and the 2024 Nigel Gray Award, and she is an elected Fellow of the Society for Research into Nicotine and Tobacco.
Professor Becky Freeman
Becky Freeman is a Professor in the School of Public Health, and a member of the Prevention Research Collaboration, at the University of Sydney. With twenty-five years of experience in the tobacco control field, she is well versed in program and policy best practice. Her research, including the Generation Vape study she leads, is highly policy-focused and prioritises dissemination across all audiences and channels, from academic journals to news media, policy briefs, social platforms, and podcasts.
Lani Teddy
Lani Teddy (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) is a Research Fellow with Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare and ASPIRE Aotearoa, University of Otago, Wellington. Her research focuses on understanding Māori experiences and perceptions of commercial tobacco and nicotine products through Indigenous research methodologies. Lani advocates for tobacco policies that support Māori wellbeing aspirations. Grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and guided by Māori-defined values, her work contributes to Indigenous scholarship that prioritises community voice and self-determination in health research and policy development.
Lealailepule Edward Cowley (Moderator)
Edward Cowley is Co-Chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa’s Smokefree Expert Advisory Group and General Manager of Inspiring Limited. He has extensive experience in public health leadership, strategy and advocacy.