Smoking in Tokelau is prevalent, with ethnic Tokelauans having the highest smoking prevalence of all Pacific ethnicities. [1] In the 2011 Tokelau Census, 47.8% of people aged over 15 were found to be regular cigarette smokers.
New Zealand has provided support to Tokelau in the form of drafting tobacco control legislation. [2] Furthermore, conversations carried out by Ashton Kelly of the University of Otago in late 2014/early 2015 indicate that there is great public support for increased tobacco control. [2] "Tokelau Health" aims to draw inspiration from New Zealand's "smokefree" campaigns and legislation. [2]
Tobacco regulation is expected to be, compared to other nations, easier to carry out. [2] As of 2014, in Tokelau there are only three stores that sell tobacco, and there is no known production of tobacco on the island. [2] Furthermore, with the only way to import goods into Tokelau being a single boat service from Apia, it would be feasible to prevent smuggling. [2]
Atafu has the highest proportion of people who smoke cigarettes regularly, with 51.5% of usual residents present in Tokelau on census night in 2011 being regular smokers.
Fakaofo has the lowest proportion of regular smokers (43.9%) and, compared to Atafu and Nukunonu, Fakaofo has the highest percentage of ex-smokers, with 8.6% of the population having given up smoking cigarettes regularly.
At the time of the 2011 Tokelau Census 23.1% of Tokelau's 15- to 19-year-olds smoked cigarettes regularly. This figure has dropped markedly since 2006, when 40.4% of 15- to 19-year-olds smoked regularly.
Also at the time of the 2011 Tokelau Census, nearly 70% of Tokelau's people aged 20 to 29 years smoked cigarettes regularly (69.9%). This is much higher than the national rate (47.8%).
The next-highest proportion of regular smokers was for the 30- to 39-year-olds (56.8%). The older age groups were the least likely to be regular smokers, with 19.0% of those aged over 70 being smokers in 2011.
In 2009, 56 Tokelauans called Quitline, a telephone service which helps smokers end their addiction to cigarettes. The same number of Tokelauans called Quitline in 2008. [1]
Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10 km2 (4 sq mi). The capital rotates yearly among the three atolls. In addition to these three, Swains Island, which forms part of the same archipelago, is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.
Tokelau may refer to:
Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and on Swains Island in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with English in Tokelau. There are approximately 4,260 speakers of Tokelauan, of whom 2,100 live in New Zealand, 1,400 in Tokelau, and 17 in Swains Island. "Tokelau" means "north-northeast".
Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, 500 kilometres north of Samoa. With a land area of 2.5 square kilometres, it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and surrounds a central lagoon, which covers some 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi). The atoll lies 800 kilometres south of the equator at 8° 35' South, 172° 30' West.
Fakaofo, formerly known as Bowditch Island, is a South Pacific Ocean atoll located in the Tokelau Group. The actual land area is only about 3 km2, consisting of islets on a coral reef surrounding a central lagoon of some 45 km2. According to the 2006 census 483 people officially live on Fakaofo. Of those present 70% belong to the Congregational Church and 22% to the Catholic Church.
The politics of Tokelau takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency. The head of state of Tokelau is King Charles III in right of his Realm of New Zealand, who is represented by an Administrator. The monarch is hereditary, the Administrator is appointed by the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The office of head of government of Tokelau, often simply called the Ulu, rotates yearly between the faipule (leaders) of Tokelau's three atolls: Atafu, Fakaofo, and Nukunonu. The current Ulu is Kelihiano Kalolo, the Faipule of Atafu atoll, who has held the position since 6 March 2023.
Kuresa Nasau is a Tokelauan politician who has served as head of government five times and as faipule of Atafu.
Prevalence of tobacco use is reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), which focuses on cigarette smoking due to reported data limitations. Smoking has therefore been studied more extensively than any other form of consumption.
A referendum on self-determination was held in Tokelau on 20 October and on 22–24 October 2007, with the result being that self-governance was rejected. Had it been successful, the referendum would have changed Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, akin to the Cook Islands and Niue. However, the referendum required a two-thirds positive vote to pass, and the "yes" side fell short of the required total by 16 votes.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tokelau:
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free.
Tokelau has two official languages: Tokelauan and English. Over 90% of the population speaks Tokelauan, and just under 60% speak English. Also, 45.8% of the population speak Samoan, and small percentages of the population speak Tuvaluan and Kiribati.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to Tokelau.
In the United Kingdom, smoking is legally permitted, with certain conditions set from laws enacted separately in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is illegal to smoke tobacco in enclosed public places, such as restaurants, shops or pubs, under the Health Act 2006 for England and Wales, the Smoking Order 2006 for Northern Ireland and the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 for Scotland. It is also illegal to smoke in a car if one is transporting people under 18 or if a vehicle is being used for work purposes. Smoking is prevalent among a sizeable, but continuously reducing minority of the population. It has been argued that smoking puts considerable strain upon the NHS due to the health problems which can be directly linked with smoking. Successive UK Governments have endeavoured to reduce the prevalence of smoking. As part of this commitment, the NHS currently offers free help to smokers who want to quit.
Internet in Tokelau is provided by Teletok, the government-owned communications corporation, and Taloha Inc., a private company formed by the Dutch Joost Zuurbier.
The vast majority of people in Tokelau are Christians and Christianity plays a significant role in the Tokelauan way of life.
Tokelauan people are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Tokelau, a Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, who share the Tokelauan Polynesian culture, history and language.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Tokelau is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Tokelau reported its first confirmed case on 21 December 2022. COVID-19 reached all three of Tokelau's main atolls in July 2023, when the government confirmed the community spread of the virus on Fakaofo, the last atoll without infections.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in the New Zealand Parliament that seeks to combat smoking by limiting the number of retailers allowed to sell smoked tobacco products; ban the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009; and to discourage the consumption of smoked tobacco products. The bill passed its third reading on 13 December 2022 and received royal assent on 16 December 2022.
