WERO is about teams of people quitting smoking together rather than individuals trying to go it alone. WERO is designed to be fun - WERO also gives communities a chance to raise some money for a good cause.Our communities are always fund-raising for our children’s schools, for our church groups and for our kapa haka (Māori cultural performance) and sports teams.This type of challenge "is one of the most successful ways to get our people to stop smoking because they do it as a group and for a charity" says the Regional Co-ordinator of WERO Challenge, Toia Lucas-Walden."I am passionate about getting Te Arawa Smokefree Iwi its hard going but with our networks I’m sure the kaupapa will happen," she adds enthusiastically.[pullquote] "I am passionate about getting Te Arawa Smokefree Iwi its hard going but with our networks I’m sure the kaupapa will happen.[/pullquote]Adults (aged 16 years and over) who are regular daily smokers form a team of 10 and they find themselves a coach (Kaihautu) who is a non-smoker or ex-smoker.Each team needs to find a stop smoking specialist (Kaiwhakatere) who can test all team members to verify that they are smokers and eligible to participate in the competition, and who can also test team members at the end of the competition.The stop smoking worker (Kaiwhakatere) can also provide expert advice on stopping smoking, in addition to support from coaches and fellow team members.
- The Challenge starts on 1 March goes till the 31 May Smokefree day.
Why do we need a contest like WERO?In Aotearoa/New Zealand, Māori (41%) and Pacific Island (33%) people have significantly higher rates of smoking compared to the rest of the population (18%).Whilst, the range of current stop smoking programmes (like Quitline) work just as well for Māori and Pacific people, not enough Māori and Pacific smokers are using existing stop smoking programmes to halve our high smoking prevalence rates by 2020.
