Professor Richard Edwards is the Head of Public Health of the College of Medicine & Public Health. He is internationally recognised public health practitioner and researcher with a particular focus on tobacco control and achieving the smoking epidemic 'endgame'. 

Richard trained in the UK in Medicine and Public Health, and held posts at the Universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Manchester, before moving to the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington in Aotearoa New Zealand where he co-founded the ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Centre and was head or co-head of department for around ten years.

His main research interests are in tobacco use epidemiology and tobacco control policy, particularly research to help achieve an end to significant tobacco use. He is co-principal investigator on the New Zealand arm of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Evaluation project and President Elect of the Oceania branch of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT).

Tobacco control

I am an internationally recognised leader in tobacco control policy research. I was one of the first tranche of researchers elected as a Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

Areas of interest and expertise include: tobacco control ‘endgames’, secondhand smoke exposure in various settings, smokefree workplaces and public places, point of sale tobacco displays, smoking and eye disease, smoking uptake, tobacco taxation, and other tobacco control policy relevant research. In this field I have led or participated in a series of innovative studies aimed directly at providing information to inform the policy process and latterly the achievement of the NZ Government’s Smokefree 2025 goal.

In New Zealand major research projects which I have led include a Ministry of Health funded evaluation of the 2003 Smokefree Amendment Act. From 2007-2009 I led the HRC funded WAKA study, which sought to determine influences on youth smoking initiation and SHS exposure and developing empirically and theoretically based intervention strategies. I was also PI of the Marsden Fund funded project ‘Daring to dream’ study exploring and evaluating methods of presenting cutting edge structural endgame tobacco control policies to key stakeholders and the public. I was co-PI of another Marsden Fund funded study investigating whether young adults starting to smoke exercise true informed choice. I was PI of the HRC funded NZ ITC study (2015-19) which is exploring the behaviours of smokers and the impact of interventions to achieve Smokefree 2025, and I am co-PI of its successor the EASE project funded within the Whakahā o to Pā Harakeke research programme. I am also leading a collaboration (INSPIRED) investigating experiences and lessons learnt among the first six countries with endgame tobacco strategies.

I have been a co-investigator on many other tobacco control and public health research projects. For example, I was deputy director of the HRC-funded NZ ITC project (2006-9) which explored the impact of a range of policy measures on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of a cohort of smokers, and was co-investigator on an HRC study investigating the attitudes of key stakeholders to policies addressing smoking and SHS exposure among children, and a Cancer Society/ASH funded study exploring the impact of point of sale tobacco displays on children and policy options for tightening point of sale legislation.

I was also a co-investigator on HRC funded studies to investigate promotion of ‘junk food’ through sport, and the impact of cigarette pack branding and plain packaging. I was co-investigator on another HRC funded SMIRQ project investigating new smokefree messaging. I am currently co-investigator on the HRC-funded TAKe study – a cohort study of Māori smokers modelled on the ITC approach, and another HRC study investigating e-cigarette use among smokers. I am also working on a project investigating possible determinants of the recent dramatic decline in adolescent smoking in New Zealand and another to document changes in smoking among Pasifika adolescents.

In the UK my previous tobacco control research included leading studies documenting SHS levels in pubs and bars and an innovative programme of research on smoking and eye disease aiming to inform and influence professional practice and government policy, as well as educating the public and eye patients about the risks of eye disease that result from smoking.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa

Between 1997 and 2007 I developed extensive experience in a programme of work carried out by the Health of Populations in Transition Research Group (led by Professor Nigel Unwin) investigating NCDs and their risk factors in Lower and Middle Income Countries, with a focus on sub-Sahara Africa. The aim of this research programme was to inform policy-makers and the public about the (often little appreciated) dangers from NCDs and their risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa, with the aim of promoting policy change; and exploring approaches to the prevention and treatment of NCDs in resource-poor settings like sub-Saharan Africa.

Epidemiology

I have been involved in numerous epidemiological studies within and outside of tobacco control. This research initially focused on environmental epidemiology and case control studies, and later on epidemiological studies relevant to tobacco control policy development and evaluation (e.g. the NZ ITC cohort study). The research carried out for my MD was an example of innovation in this field through the successful application of an interview method (the lifegrid interview) used in mainly social sciences research to a large analytical epidemiological study – The Tees Case Control Study. This approach helped address one of the major criticisms of previous epidemiological research in this field – the poor quality of data on lifelong exposure to environmental hazards. The study was published in one of the highest impact international respiratory journals (Thorax).

Current epidemiological studies outside of tobacco control include participation in teams carrying out a case control study investigating risk factors for rheumatic fever among mainly Māori and Pacific peoples in New Zealand, a case control study of causes of testicular cancer, and I am a co-investigator on a cohort study investigating the health impacts of racism.

Experience in Applied R & D, contract research, consultancies, patents

My research has mainly been supported by competitive research grants. I have also led and taken part in several successful contract research applications and projects, and other research related consultancy work. These include: (see table in section 7c below for more details):

• Evaluation of the 2003 Smokefree Environment Amendment Act for the Ministry of Health, April-December 2006 (Principal investigator, completed)
• Preparation of a survey brief for Health Sponsorship Council, Dec 2006-Jan 2007 (Principal investigator, completed)
• Report on options for tobacco taxation for the Smokefree Coalition, 2007 (Co-investigator, PI Des O’Dea, University of Otago, completed)
• Investigation of impact of tobacco displays at point of sale for the NZ Cancer Society and NZ Action on Smoking and Health (Co-investigator, completed), 2007-8
• Review of the Fruit in Schools interim evaluation report for the Ministry of Health, July 2007; and review of final report, Sept 2008 (Sole researcher, completed)
• Evaluation of costs of alcohol and illegal drugs to society, Ministry of Health, 2008 (Contributor - lead agency BERL, completed)
• Evaluation of tobacco tax increases, for Ministry of Health, 2012 (Co-investigator, PI Sally Casswell, SHORE, Massey University, completed]
• Co-investigator on evaluation of new smokefree messaging Evaluation of new smokefree messages, Ministry of Health, 2011-12 (Co-investigator, PI Janet Hoek, University of Otago).
• Evaluation of tobacco control services, for Ministry of Health, 2014 (Expert adviser, PI Sally Casswell, SHORE, Massey University, completed]
• Preparation of ‘data briefs’ on smoking and smoking-related issues for the New Zealand Health Survey, Ministry of Health [in progress]

Current national/international collaborations

ASPIRE 2025/ASPIRE Aotearoa

I was a founding member and co-director of the ASPIRE 2025 (renamed ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Centre 2023) tobacco control research group which was launched in 2011. The group aims to carry out research to help achieve New Zealand’s Smokefree 2025 goal, and includes members from across the University of Otago (Departments of Public Health, Population Health and Preventive and Social Medicine) as well as Auckland University of Technology, and Whakauae Research.

ASPIRE Aotearoa is the largest tobacco control research collaboration in New Zealand. It was awarded Research Theme status, a recognition of excellence in research, by the University of Otago in October 2011. This was renewed for 5 years in October 2015. In 2019 we became a University of Otago Research Centre of Excellence, when we also secured a prestigious HRC programme grant for the Whakahā o Te Pā Harakeke programme with partners at Hāpai te Hauora and ESR; and also were a leading participant of the Cancer Society Research Programme that was initiated in the same year.

Between 2016 and 2020 ASPIRE 2025 co-organised an annual NZ tobacco control research symposia with colleagues from the National Institute for Health Innovation of the University of Auckland. This was the only regular New Zealand national level conference dedicated to tobacco control research. It was interrupted I 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic. In 2023 we organised an ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Symposium.

ASPIRE 2025 has active collaborations with many international tobacco control research centres and leading researchers. For example, ASPIRE 2025 has hosted numerous leading international tobacco researchers and global opinion leaders in tobacco control who have presented at ASPIRE 2025 seminars (3-4 per year since 2011) and more recently in online webinars. Visitors and presenters have included:

• Dr Lucy Popova (University of California Santa Barbara), “The Lesser Evil” : Communicating about comparative risks of electronic and combusted cigarettes. May 10 2019.
• Dr Raglan Maddox, A/Prof Ray Lovett (Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University), Prof Janet Smyllie (Dala Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto). The commercial tobacco use epidemic among Indigenous peoples: surveillance and monitoring successes and challenges for evidence-based policies and interventions. April 5 2019, Wellington.
• Ms Abby Smith, Cancer Council of Speaker at ASPIRE 2025/Cancer Society Summer School course on retail tobacco supply, February 2019.
• Mr Denis Choiniere, Health Canada. Workshop for tobacco control sector on additives, denicotinised tobacco and e-cigarette policies in Canada. February 2019, Wellington.
• Professor Gerard Hastings (University of Stirling). Workshop for tobacco control sector. November 2018, Wellington.
• Dr Donna Vallone (Truth Initiative). Workshop on US media campaigns. April 18 2018, Wellington.
• Dr Olivia Maynard (University of Bristol ). Tobacco warning labels and plain packaging: How can we make them even more effective? April 11, 2018, Wellington.
• Dr Patricia Nez Henderson (Black Hills Center for American Indian Health). Engaging American Indian Communities in Tobacco Control Research: Potential Relevance for Māori People? October 26, 2017
• Professor Jonathan Samet (University of Southern California) Carolina). The current state of tobacco control in the United States: Lessons for NZ? July 20 2017.
• Dr Johannes Thrul (University of California, San Francisco). Smoking and substance use among young adults: Technology-based assessment and intervention. May 11, 2017.
• Associate Professor James Thrasher (Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina). Communicating about tobacco through product packaging and entertainment: Emerging research to inform policy. December 12 2016, Wellington.
• Associate Professor David Thomas (Menzies School of Health Research ) and Pele Bennet (Talking about the Smokes project), Talking About The Smokes: Transforming the evidence to guide Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander tobacco control. November 3 2016, Wellington.
• Professor Jeff Collin (University of Edinburgh). Seminars: Tobacco, trade and global health: The challenge of policy coherence, March 9 2016, Wellington; and E-cigarettes and the future of the tobacco industry: Demise, exit, or rehabilitation?, March 11 2016, Wellington.
• Dr Becky Freeman (University of Sydney). Seminar: Tobacco control hashtags, shares, likes and LOLs, February 16 2016, Wellington.
• Richard Foster (Melbourne City Council). Seminar: Thinking big on smokefree outdoor areas, February 12 2016, Wellington.
• Professor Frank Chaloupka (University of Illinois). Seminar: Tobacco taxation: How can it best be used to help achieve a Smokefree Aotearoa?, October 9 2015, Wellington.
• Professor Jon Berrick, National University of Singapore. Tobacco free generation. What, when , how? November 27, 2015; Wellington.
• Eric Crosbie (University of California, Santa Cruz). Seminar: Constraining Government Regulatory Authority: Tobacco Industry Trade Threats and Tobacco Plain Packaging, June 10 2015, Auckland and June 15 2015, Wellington.
• Professor Gerard Hastings (University of Stirling). Seminar: The Marketing Matrix: Why Corporate Power is a Public Health Priority, December 8 2014, Wellington.
• Dr Marisa de Andrade (University of Edinburgh). Seminar: Tobacco Marketing Loopholes? The Case of Electronic Cigarettes. November 19 2014, Wellington.
• Professor Mike Daube (Australian National Preventative Health Taskforce). Seminar: Plain packaging in Australia—how it happened, and what have been the outcomes so far? November 5 2014, Wellington.
• Professor Pam Ling (University of California, San Francisco). Seminar: Novel Interventions to Reduce Smoking among Young Adults. 31 July 2014, Wellington, August 4 2014, Auckland.
• Professor Jonathan Liberman (McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer, Melbourne). Seminar: Tobacco control & the law: current issues in NZ and internationally. July 23 2013, Wellington.
• Professor Stanton Glantz (University of California, San Francisco). Seminars: Harm Reduction: if E-cigarettes Are Not the Solution, What Is? April 8 2013, Auckland; Harm Reduction and smoking in movies, April 9 2013, Wellington; Ending the tobacco epidemic: Realising a smokefree Aotearoa/New Zealand, April 11 2013, Dunedin.
• A/Professor Beth Lee (University of Western Ontario). Regret and rationalization among smokers, February 13 2013, Wellington.
• A/Professor Tim Dewhirst (University of Guelph). Culture-jamming: Creating a Smokefree Social Movement, February 12 2013, Wellington.
• Professor Melanie Wakefield (Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne) Seminar: Plain packaging and other tobacco control policies in Australia, September 9 2012, Wellington.
• Professor Jo Di Franza (University of Massachusetts). Seminar: So you think you are a social smoker - who are you kidding? August 6 2012 (Wellington).
• Professor Ruth Malone (University of California, San Francisco). Tobacco Endgames: What they are, why they are needed and why tobacco industry denormalisation is essential for achieving them. May 18 2012, Wellington.
• A/Professor Stacey Anderson (University of California, San Francisco). Seminars: Profiting from the poor: lessons from the tobacco industry targeting of low-income women, 26 July 2012, Wellington; and The tobacco “harm reduction” seduction: then and now, 27 July 2012, Wellington.

Many of these visits have generated further collaborative work and research outputs with ASPIRE 2025 researchers.

I have many international collaborations notably with the International Tobacco Control Policy (ITC) Project coordinated from the University of Waterloo, Canada; and the Tobacco Control Research Unit at the University of Bath. I am also a chief investigator on the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on the Tobacco Endgame [PI Coral Gartner, Queensland University] a multicentre collaboration across Australia and New Zealand universities, and co-investigator on an MRFF project investigating e-cigarette communication led by Prof Billie Bonevski at Flinders University.