Smokefree / Auahi Kore

WAVE Resource Centre

Check out our smokefree / auahi kore resources.

The risk of a young person taking up smoking is influenced by their environment. Students are at greater risk of starting to smoke if they are exposed to smoking at home, have parents or friends who smoke, have easy access to tobacco, low self-esteem, or take part in risky behaviour. Those who do well at school, have future aspirations, are involved in their communities, and have strong family relationships are less likely to take up the habit. [1]

Currently only 1.9% of Year 10 students are daily smokers, and 5% report ever smoking. However, around 20% of those aged 18-24 smoke. Education settings can help to keep youth rates low, and reduce risk that students will take up smoking once they leave school. [2]

Education settings play an important part in role-modelling smokefree lifestyles, and normalising smokefree environments. Schools and early childhood educators can help shape young people’s attitudes around tobacco, and reduce smoking risk. Education settings can help us reach the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal.

What WAVE can do:

Assist with the development of smokefree policies and guidelines
Support access to smokefree and vapefree signage
Promote the Little Lungs programme for ECE to access on the WAVE website and provide guidance and support for ECE to use
Help your setting achieve a WAVE Smokefree Award icon
Provide information and links to stop smoking support services
Encourage adults to role model and influence smokefree environments for our students

Check out these two videos on how WAVE helped Rural Scholars Early Learning Centre incorporate the importance of being Smokefree in their community.

Little Lungs - Pūkahukahu Iti

Supporting and advocating for Smokefree environments for our tamariki
This programme provides simple ideas for confidently delivering smokefree messages to parents and caregivers, tools for ECE to promote smokefree environments, smokefree resources relevant to early childhood, and on-going support to develop a smokefree action plan.

Little Lungs Logo

Smokefree signage for ECE and Schools

If your setting's Smokefree signage becomes faded or damaged in some way, or if you need more, contact your WAVE Facilitator and they will arrange more smokefree signage.

From 11 May 2021, all schools, early childhood education facilities and care centres must display ‘no vaping’ notices, in addition to the existing requirement to display ‘no smoking’ notices. See here for further information.

WaimateSmokefreeSign GreenSmokefreeSign

See what others are doing in South Canterbury:

Early Childhood Centres in Waimate undertook the Little Lungs programme and this story is about how the Little Lungs programme worked: Little Lungs - Pūkahukahu Iti Case Study