Current Campaigns

Campaigns for Smoke Free Areas in Public Places

• Prisons
• Sporting fields and outdoor events
• Indigenous Smoking
• Smoking in Films and Television
• Smokefree Homes
• Sidepak Campaign

ACOSH has vigorously pushed for restrictions on smoking in public areas. Recent changes reflect success in this area, but there still is a long way to go as ACOSH continues to work to achieve a smokefree state. Some of ACOSH's recent activities in the fight for a smokefree state:

Prisons

The former Minister for Health, Jim McGinty, announced a review of smoking in prisons in 2004. He also made some comments on this during parliamentary debate on the Tobacco Products Control Bill, and made extensive comments to the media on this issue during August 2005.

On January 8, 2006 the Minister for Justice (Prisons), John D'Orazio announced that prisoners will no longer be allowed to smoke in prison cells from August 2007.

In 2008, the Minister for Corrective Services, Margaret Quirk announced a 12 month trial of a smoking ban in one regional prison in Western Australia. ACOSH gave some comments to ABC news on this trial smoking ban at Greenough Regional Prison which can be viewed here.

On 30th June 2009, cells in all prisons became smokefree.

Sporting fields and outdoor events

In December 2005, ACOSH received high level media coverage in relation to calls for sporting fields and outdoor public events (eg rock concerts). Coverage included:

• Headline story, front page of The West Australian (27.12.2005)
• Leading story on multi station radio news bulletins
• Leading story on news programs on four TV stations.

Indigenous Smoking

'Mary G' Campaign

In March 2008, an Indigenous Health Equality Summit was held in Canberra on closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people within a generation. Click on the link to view the ACOSH background paper: Closing the gap through Indigenous tobacco control.

For further information on tobacco control and closing the gap, click here .

Smoking in Films and Television

ACOSH has been concerned for some time about the prevalence of smoking in films and television. Acting on these concerns, ACOSH made submissions to the Federal Attorney General and the Office of Film and Literature Classification seeking a labelling process to identify productions that have received tobacco industry sponsorship or have excessive levels of cigarette smoking.

Smokefree Homes

(currently working on)

Sidepak Campaign

During December 2008 till March 2009, ACOSH along with staff from the WA Tobacco Document Searching Program (WATDSP) conducted a study to monitor the air quality in alfresco areas of cafes and pubs around Perth as part of an advocacy campaign to support the amendments of the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill 2008. An air monitor (TSI Sidepak) was used to test the amount of secondhand smoke that employees and patrons are being exposed to. Twenty eight cafes and pubs in various local government areas in and around Perth were visited. ACOSH also tested the amount of secondhand smoke a child would be exposed to in a car with a smoker.

Following the campaign, ACOSH sent out a media release ‘Passive smoking hazardous in Perth cars, cafes and pubs - children at risk' to highlight the findings of the study.

A full report of the campaign can be viewed here.

The Stateline transcript 'Protecting Against 2nd-hand Smoke' can be viewed here.

Further testing is currently being conducted to monitor air quality prior to and after the TPCA Bill is fully implemented.