Smoke-free Enviornment Act 2000 - Frequently asked questions

Smoking was banned in all enclosed public places, including enclosed public areas of licensed venues as of 2 July 2007.

This means :

• All indoor areas of hotels, clubs and nightclubs that are open to the general public must be completely non-smoking.
• All areas of Star City Casino with the exception of private gaming rooms must also be non-smoking.*
• There are no other exceptions.

* Smoking will be permitted in the private gaming areas at Star City Casino, not including areas used substantially for gaming machines. This exception will be reviewed every 12 months to maintain parity with interstate casinos and will be reported to the NSW Parliament.

Aside from strong community support, there are clear health benefits and legal reasons for going smoke-free, as well as evidence that smoking bans are good for business.

Health reasons
Passive smoking is breathing in other people's smoke (Environmental Tobacco Smoke). It affects smokers and non-smokers. Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is a combination of exhaled mainstream smoke (smoke breathed out by the smoker) and sidestream smoke (smoke that drifts from the burning end of a cigarette).

Environmental Tobacco Smoke is made up of over 4,000 chemicals and more than 60 of these are known to cause cancer in humans. Research indicates that there is no safe level of exposure to ETS.

A recent report by the US Surgeon General (2006) concluded that ETS causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. Prolonged ETS exposure is known to increase the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, as well as the incidence of sore throats, nasal symptoms, asthma attacks and other chest illnesses.

The dangers of passive smoking have been extensively documented and there are a number of studies undertaken in Australia and overseas that confirm the impact of ETS on workers and the general public.

In October 2001 the danger of prolonged exposure to ETS in the workplace was highlighted in the case of Marlene Sharp v Port Kembla Hotel and Port Kembla RSL. This litigation became the first case of cancer of the larynx proven in a court of law to be associated with passive smoking in the workplace.

Legal reasons
There are also legal reasons for going smoke-free:

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW)
  This Act places a duty of care on all employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees, as well as all onsite visitors including patrons, guests and contractors.
• Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW)
  Employees who receive an injury arising out of or in the course of employment (and in the case of the death of a worker, his or her dependents) may be entitled to compensation under this Act. Employees who have been made ill because of passive smoking in the workplace may have rights to compensation.
• Other legislation
  Other legislation such as that applying to lifts, escapes, stairwells, confined spaces and dangerous goods specifically ban smoking.
• Common law action
  Owners or licensees of establishments are at risk of being subject to legal action if smoke causes harm to employees or visitors. This is generally expressed as a duty of care owed to those who may suffer harm from a person's negligent acts or omissions. This is the same basis that people risk being sued if others suffer injury by being negligently exposed to slippery or dangerous floors.

Community support
Public opinion consistently supports smoke-free enclosed public places.

In 2007 NSW Health commissioned a Newspoll study on attitudes to smoking bans. Respondents were asked,

"Thinking about hotels, pubs, bars and registered clubs like Leagues Clubs and R.S.L clubs - and in particular the gaming areas of these places, such as the poker machine area. Would you personally approve or disapprove of the government banning smoking in the gaming areas of these places and in all areas of registered clubs, pubs & hotels, bars & nightclubs?"

Results found:

This support for smoke-free enclosed public places is common throughout Australia. Of the 30,000 Australians who participated in the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 82% supported banning smoking in the workplace and 68% supported banning smoking in pubs and clubs. This is consistent with recent surveys undertaken by other agencies that have all consistently found major support for smoking bans in enclosed public places.

Economic reasons
There is little evidence to suggest smoking bans have a long-term detrimental effect upon business.

The most recent evidence regarding the effects of smoking bans in New York was reported in an article by Andrew Hyland et al, published in the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Cornell University (2003). This study found that one-year after the introduction of complete bans on smoking in New York bars, clubs and nightclubs, business tax receipts were up by 8.7%, employment was up by 10,600 and community support for the ban was overwhelmingly positive. Similarly a study conducted in Ireland in 2004 found high support for the smoking bans, with 70% of respondents saying their experiences in pubs had improved since the ban (Lansdown 2004).

In NSW, a survey was conducted in 2006 to explore the impact smoking bans might have on patronage to pubs and clubs. Results found

• 58.4% of respondents said that it would make no difference to their patronage
• 35.0% said they would be likely to visit licensed premises more often, whilst only
• 6.6% indicated they would visit pubs and clubs less often.

Other reasons
There are many other benefits to going smoke-free. Benefits include reduced cleaning and maintenance costs, reduced fire risk, less absenteeism due to related illnesses and improved public image.

Venue management can assist staff and patrons in understanding the smoke-free requirements by ensuring

• Staff are clear on where smoking is allowed and not allowed in venues
• Staff are instructed to briefly explain to anyone who smokes in an enclosed area that smoking is not permitted and that if the person wishes to continue to smoke, they should move to an outdoor area
• "No smoking" signs are prominently displayed in appropriate places

A patron may fail to notice that indoor areas are non-smoking. In such circumstances, a number of procedures should be adopted:

• briefly explain that smoking in enclosed areas is no longer permitted
• suggest they step outside if they wish to continue to smoke
• if a patron insists on continuing to smoke in the enclosed area, there is an obligation to ask the person to leave that area
• management should develop a policy for situations where a patron doesn't leave the area when requested. If the person continues to smoke and doesn't leave the area, the licensee, club secretary or manager should implement their policy for situations where a patron's behaviour is unacceptable.

Some smokers may be upset about the smoke-free requirement because of their nicotine dependence. However, experience shows that most smokers will be happy to comply.

Environmental Health Officers based in Public Health Units are authorised as inspectors to enforce the legislation. These officers monitor compliance, investigate complaints and make inspections.

Individuals have responsibilities not to smoke in smoke-free areas and proprietors also have a legal obligation to ensure that patrons do not smoke in enclosed areas of their venues.

Members of the public can contact their local Public Health Unit or the Tobacco Information Line on 1800 357 412 or send an email to get more information or report a breach.