Dunne's pro-tobacco line "anti-family"

It is astonishing that United Future, a party that brands itself as pro-family, is attempting to undermine the Smokefree environments bill in a way that would threaten the health of thousands of families, Green MP Sue Kedgley said today.

"What Peter Dunne is proposing is a nonsense, and he knows it," Ms Kedgley said.

"He is arguing that ventilation systems will protect people against the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, when he knows full well that they will not.

"Expert evidence presented during the select committee confirmed that while ventilation systems remove the odour of cigarette smoke, they do not remove its harmful cancer-causing chemicals.

"Ventilation systems do not protect New Zealanders against the harmful - sometimes deadly - effects of second-hand smoke," Ms Kedgley said.

The Smokefree Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill will ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, and is scheduled to have its second reading in Parliament today.

Green amendments to the Bill, which will be introduced at the committee stages, will remove proposed penalties for smokers who breach the new law, putting the onus instead on operators of eating and drinking establishments, and all other employers.

Another Green amendment will ban the sale of toys that imitate the act of smoking, to people aged under 18; including the insidious cigarette toys from the $2 Shop aimed at people aged three and up.

ENDS

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