The Cancer Society of New Zealand wholeheartedly supports the Auckland Council on its leadership role in tackling the ‘big tobacco’ issue. “By focusing on public outdoor areas the Council is sending a clear message that our tamariki/children need positive Smokefree role models and that their health should be protected from the effects of smoking,” said Skye Kimura, Tobacco Control Advisor for the Society .

Welcoming the move she adds “it is fantastic to see such leadership in establishing a policy which clearly promotes healthy smokefree lifestyles and prioritises the 2025 vision of a tobacco-free New Zealand”.

The University of Otago, Wellington, recently undertook a study that looked at attitudes towards outdoor smoking on Wellington’s ‘Golden Mile’ of shopping streets and found that 56% of those interviewed believe this area should be completely smoke-free.

However, the researchers observed an average of seven smokers for every ten minutes of walking on those streets, (Courtenay Place, Manners Mall and Street, Willis Street and Lambton Quay). “This tells us that non-smokers are coming into contact with second-hand smoke on a regular basis, and raises the question whether New Zealand should follow other jurisdictions in making busy shopping areas smokefree,” says Skye Kimura.

ENDS

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