Frequently Asked Questions on the Smokefree Policy
What is the Smokefree Policy?
A policy sets out guiding principles and objectives around a particular topic area to help
make logical decisions.
The purpose of the Smokefree Policy is to document the council’s commitment to working
proactively with others towards making Auckland smokefree by 2025.
What does smokefree mean?
Smokefree in the context of the policy is an aspirational goal to;

reduce the number of smokers to less than five percent of Auckland’s resident
population, and

have a range of public places that are free of cigarette smoke for the public to
enjoy.
What does the policy do?
The policy outlines the council’s role and approach towards achieving a smokefree city by
2025. It identifies the areas that are, or planned to be, designated as smokefree
throughout Auckland.
The policy does not ban people from smoking. Instead, the policy is promoted through
education and awareness, using signage and other forms of communication, to
encourage people to refrain from smoking at events and in certain public places.
Why not just ban smoking?
In creating smokefree public places, it is expected that the council would be more likely
to get public compliance if it focusses on the positive and avoids any punitive or
disciplinary aspect.
Therefore, the council’s Smokefree Policy is educative rather than punitive. It’s not
about punishing smokers but about providing smokefree role-modeling and protecting
the young.
Due to national legislation, if there was a smokefree bylaw, the council would be unable
to issue an infringement fine for non-compliance (e.g. smoking in a public place) in order
to enforce the bylaw.
This means other bylaw enforcement options are limited and would most likely result in
prosecuting individual offenders which would incur significant costs to the ratepayers.
In principle, the council does not create bylaws it does not intend to enforce.
What about people who want to smoke?
The council’s Smokefree Policy is not a statement about or judgement upon smokers. The
policy doesn’t tell people not to smoke. It asks people not to smoke in certain public spaces
so that others are not exposed to the harm caused by second-hand smoke.
Reducing smoking in public spaces also helps to de-normalising smoking and protects
children from negative role-modeling as we know that being exposed to adults’ smoking
makes it more likely that children and young people become smokers in the future.
What are the smokefree areas?
The Smokefree Environment’s Act 1990 already regulates non-smoking in most indoor
public areas. The council’s policy compliments this. It takes a phased approach in
establishing smokefree outdoor public places.
Current outdoor areas that are smokefree in Auckland

All parks and reserves

Playgrounds
 Skate parks
 sports fields
 Public outdoor areas associated with the council, including:

Service centres

Local board offices

Libraries

Stadiums

Swimming pools

Community facilities and halls

Museums, zoo

Leisure, recreation and arts centres.
 Train stations and platforms, bus stations and shelters, and ferry terminals.
Future outdoor areas that are proposed to be smokefree
The council is currently working on the best ways to make the following areas (as identified
in the policy) smokefree;

Plazas, civic squares, shared spaces





The areas around sports clubs (i.e. clubs on council land not already covered by the
public places above)
Al fresco dining areas
Urban centres
Public beaches
Common areas of council housing.
Why does Auckland need a smokefree policy?
Aligns to central government goal
The Auckland Plan includes an outcome to have smokefree city by 2025. This is in line with
the central government’s vision for a smokefree nation by the same time.
To de-normalise smoking
Adult smoking has been identified as the primary factor in young people taking up smoking.
The policy aims to de-normalise smoking behaviour, particularly among children and young
people.
To reduce second-hand smoke
Research shows second-hand smoke can negatively affect health. As well, the policy aims to
address the nuisance from second-hand smoke in outdoor public places, particularly those
places where people congregate in close proximity to one another.
To reduce cigarette butt litter
The act of smoking can have a significant impact on Auckland’s environment. Discarded
packets and cigarette butts end up in our environment.
The public supports it
Aucklanders are telling us and other agencies they want to live in a smokefree city.
Submissions on the draft Auckland Plan, Long-term Plan (2012-2022) and local board plans
urged the council to introduce smokefree outdoor areas and to make a commitment to
becoming a smokefree city prior to the policy being developed in 2013.
Young people are the city’s future
Auckland’s children and young people are the future. Focusing on creating a city that is a
great place for children, young people, their family and whānau to live, will contribute
substantially towards making Auckland the world’s most liveable city.