Cancer group pushes for smoke-free dining
Ashtrays are disappearing from New Zealand cafes and restaurants, as the Cancer Society and councils come together to make dining a smoke-free occasion.
At least 18 cafes and restaurants in Marlborough will be declaring their outdoor spaces ‘‘smoke-free’’ next Tuesday, to mark World Smokefree Day on May 31.
Restaurants around the country are already adopting the policy permanently.
Cancer Society NZ chief executive Claire Austin said Marlborough was a great example of a local initiative between the Cancer Society and other groups, including the council.
‘‘It’s a great starting point to do that for the day but obviously the most important thing is that people aren’t exposed to secondhand smoke, because that is very dangerous, particularly for families with children.’’
The society was working with councils throughout New Zealand, including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, to ‘‘push smokefree dining as a permanent fixture’’, she said. ‘‘The number of smokers in New Zealand continues to drop, but it isn’t pleasant to sit around smoke if you’re a nonsmoker. It also puts your health at risk.
‘‘I think there’s a lot of people who would actually choose to use those facilities as a result of not being exposed to other people’s smoke.’’
Cancer Society divisions across New Zealand had been working directly with local government bodies, which in some cases were adopting smoke-free bylaws, Austin said.
Councils in Palmerston North, Hutt City, Auckland and Wellington were among those who were considering adopting smokefree policies, or had already done so.
This week, a majority of Hutt City councillors voted to ban smoking from areas such as parks, sports grounds, beaches and train stations.
It would include public areas around council buildings and facilities, with the council looking to ‘‘explore’’ the idea of designating entire areas of town centres as smoke-free.
In Christchurch, the smoke-free lobby group has been developing a voluntary trial where it hoped to convince about 50 cafes and restaurants to make their outdoor dining areas smoke-free this summer.
There was no talk of the city council banning smoking from outdoor dining areas completely, though Luciano Espresso Bar and Terra Viva cafe had done so of their own volition.
Elsewhere in Canterbury, Ashburton’s Robert Harris Cafe has been a smoke-free operation since December.
‘‘[Advocacy groups] had come along and asked if whether we’d thought about going smoke-free, and we said ‘no, but yep, we’d be keen for that’.’’
Ching said ashtrays were removed from the cafe’s outdoor area, and signage was put up, but there hadn’t been many customers who smoked before the ban, anyway.
‘‘We just thought well, they can go elsewhere.
‘‘We’d rather have a smoke-free area for families and other people.’’
Austin said the initiative was not about ostracising smokers.
‘‘People smoke for a whole range of reasons and it’s important not to point the finger and blame, but offer solutions to assist them to give up.
‘‘Tobacco has the biggest association with the greatest amount of disease, it’s a killer, so really what we want to do is encourage and support people.’’
Customer feedback on social media had been largely positive, Ching said.
‘‘We haven’t had too many complaints – maybe one or two.
‘‘People say ‘oh, can I not smoke out there?’, and we say ‘no, sorry’.
‘‘They’re usually fine, they just want to clarify it.’’
Ching’s cafe was one of about eight in Ashburton which had been contacted to take part in the initiative, she said.
A Cancer Society spokesman said Auckland’s Hipgroup, which owns 14 establishments across the city, went smoke-free in 2014.
Bar owners contacted in Wellington said they were not aware of the initiative in Marlborough.
Lydia Suggate, co-owner of Basque rooftop bar in Courtenay Pl, said the bar would section off an area for non-smokers.
‘‘I know how unappealing it can be to have cigarette smoke in your face, especially when eating.’’
However, it would ‘‘make a reasonable dent in trade for the day’’ if Basque banned smoking on the rooftop.
‘‘To be honest, we don’t get too excited at forcing people to do something; yes, smoking is bad for your health, as are very many things, but ultimately people should get to choose for themselves.’’
‘‘Tobacco has the biggest association with the greatest amount of disease, it’s a killer, so really what we want to do is encourage and support people.’’ Claire Austin Cancer Society NZ