Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai: Māori perceptions of rolled tobacco harm

Abstract

This article seeks to understand Māori experiences of roll your own tobacco and how these experiences align with current on-pack warning messages. Historically, tobacco control messaging has drawn on biomedical science and neoliberal ideology promoting individual choice to motivate cessation; however, this framing may not align with Māori perceptions of tobacco and collective well-being. While the history of tobacco use reveals the ongoing impact of tools of colonisation, such as addictions, the Māori concept of whakapapa (history, genealogy) helped with understanding the need to heal intergenerational trauma and restore whānau (family) well-being. We conducted 10 whānau interviews (n = 30); each whānau included at least one person with current lived experience of using rolled tobacco. Interviews explored perceptions of rolled tobacco and included visual storytelling exercises where whānau critiqued and created on-pack warning and efficacy images and messages. We present themes of breakdown and restoration of whakapapa, and discuss their connections to commercial tobacco and Māori health outcomes.