Te Roopu Tupeka Kore Launches Powerful New Documentary on Māori Tobacco Control

Te Roopu Tupeka Kore, the Māori Tobacco Control network, is proud to launch Our Documentary: The Whakapapa of Māori Tobacco Control in Aotearoa New Zealand at Wainuiomata Marae, Lower Hutt, on 30th May 2025, as part of World Smokefree May.

The collective, made up of Māori organisations and advocates, has long fought to reduce the harm caused by tobacco and its disproportionate impact on Māori communities.

"Our documentary shares our journey and amplifies the collective voice of Māori in tobacco control," says Anaru Waa, Interim Chair of Te Roopu Tupeka Kore and recent recipient of the Dame Tariana Turia Award for global leadership in Indigenous tobacco control.

Dame Tariana Turia, who passed away in January, led the introduction of the world-leading Smokefree 2025 Aotearoa goal during her time in Parliament.

"That leadership, born from the Māori Affairs Select Committee inquiry into tobacco use-led by Hone Harawira and Dame Tariana-set a global example," says Waa.

While 2025 marked the target for a smokefree Aotearoa, Māori continue to face higher rates of nicotine addiction than non-Māori. Despite national progress, smoking-related inequities persist.

"This documentary isn’t an attack on any one government," says Waa, "but a call to acknowledge how politics has too often derailed efforts to protect our people from tobacco harm."

Told through the voices of Māori tobacco control leaders, the documentary is a snapshot of decades of advocacy, offering a deeper understanding of the movement and the passion driving it.