Long, winding road to cleaner air

Back in the 1980s, 30 per cent of New Zealanders smoked, and tobacco company sponsorship was the norm for everything from sports events to fashion shows. Public health campaigner Murray Laugesen, who was involved in major public health initiatives in India and New Zealand, has just released a memoir, My Life in Public Health. In the following two edited extracts, he outlines the circuitous route to curb tobacco-company influence and cut smoking rates