Quakes Trigger Smoking habits

Cantabrians are turning to Camel cigarettes to cope with earthquake stress. Canterbury Smokefree co-ordinator Vivien Daley said Canterbury calls to Quitline had dropped from 14 per cent of the total to 9 per cent since the February quake.

She said feedback from General Practitioners (GPs) and quit-smoking organisations showed more people had started smoking again.

"This is very worrying but an understandable trend given what we've all been through in the last nine months," she said.

"For smokers, the memory of the way they used to handle crises by smoking was triggered by the enormity of the earthquakes and the effect they have had on our lives."

Daley said smoking was expensive and people would probably regret starting again.

It was tough for people to put in all the hard work to quit, only to be set back by the quakes.

Daley said World Smokefree Day today would be a good opportunity for people to quit smoking.

Burnside woman Torun Moffitt made a new year resolution to stop smoking.

She said she gave up in January for health reasons but resumed after the February 22 quake.

"Like a lot of people in Christchurch, I've had a very stressful year," she said.

"The earthquakes and endless aftershocks made it tough to keep off the cigarettes.

"I'm determined to get back on track and quit for good; I have to for the sake of my health."

She was working with a general practice nurse and using patches and lozenges to make sure this time she would be giving up for good.

A recent Southern Cross Healthcare Group survey of 1000 New Zealanders found Cantabrians had the highest smoking rates, at 21 per cent.