Abstract
• Much more could be done to prevent cancer in New Zealand.
• Inequality, government leadership and funding are challenges in cancer prevention.
• Interventions focused on alcohol, poor diet, smoking and UV radiation are urgently needed.
• Equity focused interventions have great potential for health gain.
Many cancers can be prevented, yet Aotearoa New Zealand has high incidence and marked ethnic inequalities in some cancers. This paper explores the state of cancer prevention in New Zealand. It does so through an examination of the state of prevention in four areas: alcohol, nutrition and body weight, sun safety and tobacco. The paper concludes that despite good evidence, New Zealand struggles to deliver effective prevention. While New Zealand has been a world leader in tobacco control, progress in this area has slowed. Such leadership has not occurred in other areas. New Zealand needs courageous political leadership for cancer prevention, especially to regulate the powerful alcohol, junk food and tobacco industries. It also needs equity focused interventions and significant investment to achieve the huge potential for health gain and equity that cancer prevention interventions can deliver.