• Casinos
• Bars/Clubs
• Restaurants/Cafes
• Smokefree Cars/Homes
• Sidepak Campaign
• Prisons
• Beaches/Sporting Fields/Outdoor Events
• Fire Safe Cigarettes
• Local Government
• Tobacco Tax
• Indigenous Smoking
• WA Tobacco Document Searching Program
• Make Smoking History Campaign
Campaigns for Smoke Free Areas in Public Places
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:
Burswood Resort Casino
Background
The main gaming room of the Burswood Intenational Resort Casino went smokefree from 21 December 2001. Most of the remainder of the facility from July 2006. However, the Casino operator sought a continuing exemption from the 'Smokefree Enclosed Public Places Regulations' for the 'High Roller Room' and the WA Government granted their request.
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Bars/Clubs
Background
Tobacco Facts for Pubs & Clubs (PDF file)
Since 1st July 2006, all pubs, nightclubs and clubs are smokefree in Western Australia. ACOSH continues to monitor compliance.
There has been a positive outcome as a result of the new smoking restrictions. A survey conducted by the Cancer Council WA showed that nearly 80 per cent of smokers have not been discouraged from going out to pubs and clubs and non-smokers are now going to pubs and clubs more often as a result of the new smoke free environment.
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Restaurants/Cafes
Background
On July 31st 2006, all indoor public places in Western Australia became smoke-free. There is still concern however for outdoor alfresco areas which still allow smoking near food.
ACOSH strongly supports the new Tobacco Products Control Amendment (TPCA) Bill 2008, which was tabled in the WA Parliament by the Independent Member for Alfred Cove, Dr Janet Woollard in November 2008. The Bill seeks to protect the health of the public, alfresco dining areas in WA will become smokefree. As part of an advocacy campaign to support the Bill, ACOSH conducted a study to test the air quality in alfresco dining areas around Perth.
Click here for information on WA legislation and the TPCA Bill 2008.
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Smokefree Cars and Homes
Background
Both the AMA and ACOSH have campaigned on this issue over some years. ACOSH strongly supports the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill 2008 which protects children from passive smoking in cars. ACOSH recently conducted a study to test the amount of secondhand smoke a child would be exposed to in a car with a smoker which supports the amendments to the Bill.
Click here for information on WA legislation and the TPCA Bill 2008.
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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.
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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.
Recently 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.
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Beaches, sporting fields, outdoor events
In December 2005, ACOSH received high level media coverage in relation to calls for smokefree beaches, children’s playgrounds, 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.
ACOSH continues to work in co-operation with Local Government and the relevant peak body over these matters.
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Fire Safe Cigarettes
Cigarette-caused fires kill an average of 14 people a year in Australia, and cost around $80m in damage. There is also evidence that many fires are started from lit cigarettes being thrown from car windows, with the NSW Fire Service estimating that around 4% of all cigarettes thrown from car windows start some kind of fire. Tobacco companies put chemicals in cigarette paper to make them smoulder longer. Cigarettes can easily be made more self-extinguishing by removing or reducing these chemicals.
ACOSH along with other tobacco control agencies is seeking an appropriate national standard for the requirement of tobacco companies to produce "reduced ignition propensity" cigarettes (cigarettes that are self-extinguishing). When implemented, this will not only save lives and reduce the number of people who suffer burn injuries, but will also reduce the substantial damage costs and an estimated 4,000 fires each year caused by discarded cigarettes.
All State and Territory Ministers for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and their Fire Chiefs strongly support the introduction of a fire safe standard for cigarettes.
The Commonwealth needs to introduce legislation to mandate compliance - the minimum standard to at least be consistent with US & Canada minimum.
The tobacco industry continues to lobby against sensible regulation to introduce a standard for reduced fire risk cigarettes.
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Local Government
By making areas under council control smokefree, local governments can make a huge difference in the safety, health and cleanliness of the community. This includes areas such as beaches, sporting facilities, parks, playgrounds, outdoor alfresco areas and public events like concerts. ACOSH welcomes and supports the decisions of local governments taking action in tobacco control.
Recent announcements include the City of Fremantle's decision to make all outdoor alfresco areas smokefree.
On 24th May 2007, the City of Joondalup announced that its 17 kilometres of beaches from Marmion to Burns Beach will become smokefree. This was implemented in December 2007.
Now that Perth City Council has decided to ban smoking in al fresco areas, ACOSH urges other cafe strip councils like Subiaco and Vincent to do the same.
"Perth is the big one, with 154 al fresco dining licences," director of the West Perth-based Australian Council on Smoking and Health, Stephen Hall, said. "Now Subiaco and Vincent, with their major al fresco cafe strips, need to show what they're made of or be left in a cloud of smoke."
On July 1, Rockingham became the first city in the state to ban smoking on its burgeoning cafe strip.
"The other outstanding question is when the Minister for Health will bring in smokefree al fresco laws statewide, which we would encourage for consistency" Mr Hall said. (6.8.08)
In November 2008 the Joondalup City Council voted to ban both smoking in alfresco areas on public property and smoking within five metres of the entrances and exits of all City-owned buildings which took effect in early 2009.
Other councils are encouraged to follow these precedents.
Smokefree Outdoor Areas - WA Councils grid
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Tobacco Tax
With so many opinions on tobacco tax, let's look at the facts
Professor Ian Olver, Maurice Swanson
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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.
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WA Tobacco Document Searching Program
In August 2009, the WA Tobacco Document Searching Program launched the monograph “We are still not yet out of the woods in W.A.”: Western Australia and the international tobacco industry.
A copy of the monograph is available for downloading from the WA Tobacco Document Searching Program’s website: http://healthsciences.curtin.edu.au/watdsp/publications/
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Make Smoking History
 Make Smoking History is an initiative of the Cancer Council Western Australia aiming to reinvigorate and contribute to efforts to drive down the prevalence of smoking among adults in Western Australia.
For more information: Make Smoking History campaign
Email: MakeSmokingHistory@cancerwa.asn.au
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Click here to view national (Australian) smoking legislation
Click here to view state (WA) smoking legislation
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