Rate My Professor Richard Edwards

Professor Richard Edwards is a Professor of Public Health in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington. He holds the qualifications MB BChir, MRCP, FCPHM(NZ), MPH, and MD, having trained as a public health physician in the United Kingdom before moving to Wellington in November 2005. With more than 20 years of experience in tobacco control practice and research in the UK and New Zealand, Edwards serves as Co-Director of the ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Centre and Co-Director of the Whakahā o te Pā Harakeke research programme. He is a member of the leadership group of the Otago Global Health Institute, Deputy Editor of the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, and contributes to expert advisory committees for Hāpai Te Hauora and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation. Edwards teaches PUBH732 Prevention and Control of Disease in Populations.

Edwards' research specializations encompass tobacco use epidemiology, tobacco control policies, and smokefree policy research aimed at achieving the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal of less than 5% smoking prevalence by 2025 for all population groups in New Zealand. He is co-principal investigator of the Evidence for Achieving Smokefree Aotearoa Equitably (EASE) study, the New Zealand arm of the International Tobacco Control Evaluation project. His prior work includes environmental epidemiology and non-communicable diseases research in sub-Saharan Africa. Notable publications include "Through the haze: How the tobacco control community in New Zealand influenced policy change" (2026, Tobacco Control), "Awareness and use of oral nicotine pouches among youth and young adults, 2022-2024" (2025, BMJ Public Health), "Vaping prevalence and trends: Findings from the 2024 NZ Health Survey" (2025, The Briefing), and "After the smoke has cleared: evaluation of the impact of a new national smoke-free law in New Zealand" (2008). His contributions have informed tobacco control evaluations, policy development, and endgame strategies in New Zealand.