Butt out city smokers

CHRISTOPHER HARRIS

A City of Sydney iniative to trial a smoke free Pitt St has drawn praise from anti-smoking groups, but there are concerns that a ban in Martin Place has only moved smokers elsewhere.

The Council said the twelve month trial of the smoking ban in Martin Place was well received by the community.

Liberal Councillor Christine Forster moved the initial motion for the Martin Place smoke free trial.

“We started the trial it was very successful and got it extended to Pitt St Mall,” Clr Forster told City Hub.

According to the Lord Mayor, support was strong for the ban.

“Four out of five people surveyed said they wanted the Martin Place smoke free trial made permanent and extended to Pitt Street Mall,” the Lord Mayor said.

“This is one of the world’s most popular shopping strips, yet harmful second hand tobacco smoke risks the health of the many children and families who visit.”

According to the council, the number of smokers in Martin Place counted after the ban was introduced significantly decreased.

Tobacco Control expert, Univertsity of Sydney Professor Becky Freeman told City Hub that the ban in public places was popular but not necessarily hugely beneficial for public health.

“Indoor air quality is the most impactful on our overall health, but in outdoor areas the evidence isn’t as clear,” she told City Hub.

She said that the ban in public places was a continuum of the movement away from smoking.

“I understand why councils go through with these kinds of laws, because they are very popular with the population who mostly doesn’t smoke.”

“From another standpoint, they’re about amenity, they’re about people not liking smoking in public places, and that is a result of people enjoying smoke free air in other places.”

She said people were less tolerant of smoking in the City because it was a high income area where smoking rates are lower.

“In high income areas, our smoking rates are well below 10 per cent, and the public says, I don’t want that.”

President of the Non Smokers Movement of Australia, Margaret Hogge, told City Hub that Pitt Street Mall was one of the worst areas in the City because of the plumes of cigarette smoke.

She said of the shopping strip’s park benches: “It’s like hot seating for smoking, it is the worst in the city.”

Ms Hogge said the difference on the Martin Place ban was marked.

“Even on day two of the Martin Place ban I sat on the steps of GPO and saw people slow down to enjoy the clean air.”

“The enforcement in Martin Place is pretty good, I go there and there will be one or two people, usually they’re tourists, and there are sometimes a couple of obstreperous people.”

Ms Hogge said that there were now a lot more smokers on nearby Barrack St however remains hopeful that the ban on Pitt Street would decrease the number of smokers.

She wants smoking to be confined to one small area per city block with an ashtray, so people could avoid these particular spots if they wanted to.

Under her concept the number of spots would be reduced in time, increasing the barrier to smoking so people would be inclined to quit or smoke less.

After a few years, her plan is to ban smoking completely in the City. She said people visiting  could use nicotine replacement therapy just as effectively, like some people do when they travel on long haul flights.

Poker machine areas in Australia that are 75 per cent enclosed are classified as unenclosed for the purpose of navigating smoking laws causing staff at such venues to be exposed to harmful second hand smoke.

Ms Hogge wants a smoking ban on such areas.

Professor Becky Freeman agrees: “I think we do have problems with our laws in NSW. Some of the biggest are the high roller rooms in Casinos.”

“I think there are some problems with our definitions of what constitutes an unenclosed space, and other duristictions such as Queensland have said that’s ridiculous, we’re just going to ban it.”

Smoking in NSW has been steadily declining.

It was reported in 2014 as being a habit of 15.3 per cent of the total population.