Media Release
25 October 2001
Deprivation and tobacco are working together to shorten life expectancy
It's no secret that deprivation and tobacco reduce life expectancy but two new Ministry of Health reports provide
detailed evidence of the relationship between the two across different New Zealand communities.
The Ministry's occasional bulletins on Life expectancy and small area deprivation in New Zealand and Inhaling
Inequality: Tobacco's contribution to health inequality in New Zealand take an in-depth look at how deprivation affects
life expectancy and how tobacco contributes to this inequality, said Deputy Director-General of Public Health Dr Don
Matheson.
The report focuses on the life expectancy of residents of meshblocks -- an area with a population of about 90 people
that is the smallest block studied in each census -- grouped according to their level of socioeconomic deprivation.
It found a steep gradient in life expectancy across the range of deprivation levels. Men from the most advantaged areas
live on average nine years longer than men from the most disadvantaged communities. For women the difference is under
seven years.
"The disparities these reports highlight are of grave concern to the Ministry and we remain committed to trying to
reduce them.
"We were already aware of many of the issues but this new data helps us quantify the relationships better and track
changes over time," Dr Matheson said.
Tobacco is widely recognised as the leading cause of early death in developed countries but its impact hits different
sections of the community in different ways.
The report shows smoking is one of the main pathways linking deprivation to premature death. Smoking accounts for about
one-third of the deprivation gradient, one-quarter of the Maori-non Maori difference, and one-fifth of the gender
difference in life expectancy.
"Tobacco control is a vital part of addressing inequalities. Even though New Zealand's tobacco control programme is
among the world's best, and already addresses the needs of deprived communities and certain ethnic groups, there is
still some way to go.
The report also identifies the importance of wider factors around deprivation that need to be addressed. Two-thirds of
the effect of deprivation on life expectancy is related these wider causes such as housing, education and income.
"We need to tackle the root causes of social inequality as well as treat the 'symptoms', such as smoking," Dr Matheson
said.
For more information contact: Anne-Marie Robinson, Media Advisor, ph: 04-496-2067 or 025-802 622
http://www.moh.govt.nz/media.html
or: Murray Laugesen Managing Director and Public Health Physician Health New Zealand ph: 09 585 1228 or 025 884 375
laugesen@healthnz.co.nz
Peter Crampton Senior Lecturer Department of Public Health Wellington School of Medicine ph: (04) 385 5999 x 6045
cramptonp@wnmeds.ac.nz
Questions and Answers about the Reports
Q. What is the overall conclusion about the effect of tobacco on life expectancy?
A. Overall it concludes that the loss of health to tobacco accounts for about one-fifth of the gender difference in life
expectancy at birth, one-quarter of the inequality between Mäori and non-Mäori, and one-third of the deprivation
gradient
Q. The report says smokers lose about five years in life expectancy -- why is this less the fourteen year figure
sometimes mentioned?
A. The fourteen year figure refers only to those smokers who die early because of tobacco, the figure estimated in the
report includes all smokers (whether they die from a smoking-related cause or not)
Q. How much would life expectancy in New Zealand improve from reducing tobacco use compared with other public health
efforts?
A. The impact of eliminating tobacco consumption on the health of New Zealand's population is estimated to be greater
than that of infectious diseases and all maternal and infant conditions combined, or similar to that of preventing all
types of intentional and unintentional injuries. These estimates of increases in life expectancy from tobacco
elimination are conservative, mostly because the effects of second-hand smoke are not included in the model.
Q. What is the deprivation gradient?
The deprivation gradient in life expectancy refers to the fact people living in more deprived small areas have lower
life expectancy than those living in less deprived areas, and this applies right across all degrees of deprivation, not
just comparing the most with the least deprived areas.
Anne Marie Robinson Media Advisor Ministry of Health DDI: 04 496 2067 Mobile: Fax: 04-496-2010
http://www.moh.govt.nz mailto:anne_marie_robinson@moh.govt.nz