The no smoking and vaping signs have been rolled out since the policy was adopted in 2018.
Next year should come as a breath of fresh air for Whangārei residents with all council-owned public spaces officially smoke and vape-free.
By the end of 2020, public spaces owned by Whangārei District Council will be smoke and vape-free areas as part of a policy first adopted in 2018.
Two years later – and in what may be a surprise to many – all smoking and vaping is to be banned from council-owned public spaces, including malls, parks and beaches.
Whangārei District Council strategy manager Tony Horton confirmed the policy includes all public spaces owned by the council. It doesn't include private property or public land administered by government agencies such as Department of Conservation.
However, the policy can't be policed.
"It is not a regulated policy that can be enforced but is achieved through educational tools and promotional material – such as signs. If people do want to smoke, they can do so in their own homes or in designated outdoor smoking areas at bars and restaurants."
The district-wide smoke and vape-free policy includes existing policies to further reinforce WDC's contribution toward a smokefree Whangārei supporting central government's goal of smokefree New Zealand by 2025.
WDC is one of a number of councils who have already committed to the smokefree 2025 vision which means a smoking population of less than 5 per cent. Many local authorities in New Zealand have implemented smokefree policies in outdoor public places.
Northland has one of the highest smoking rates in the country, with 18.2 per cent regular smokers compared with 16.4 per cent of Whangārei residents and 13.2 per cent New Zealand-wide.
To eliminate confusion, smoking and vaping are both included in the policy. The Ministry of Health has stated that the evidence on vaping indicates it carries much less risk than smoking cigarettes but is not risk-free.
Since 2010 WDC has been rolling out smokefree areas including playgrounds, sports fields, neighbourhood reserves, council-owned bus shelters and transport hubs, council housing, libraries, carparks, cemeteries and council-run events.
In 2018, council supported a smokefree outdoor dining pilot called The Fresh Air Project Whangārei, which saw 12 CBD and Quayside cafes participate.
The additional areas now include the city centre including Cameron St Mall/Laneway and the Town Basin, beaches and the airport. WDC has been putting up new signage to educate residents and visitors on the district's smoke and vape-free areas.
Mayor Sheryl Mai welcomed the initiative.
"Expanding smokefree outdoor public spaces is a vitally important way of protecting our children, supporting those trying to stop smoking and promoting healthy lifestyles.
"It's all about having clean air for our tamariki, mokopuna and for ourselves. Tell all your whānau, tell all your friends, tell your neighbours, Whangārei is beautiful and we need help to keep it that way."
Horton said there will be no "smoking police" patrolling public places and smokers had generally respected new rules.
"Research shows that most smokers are considerate of others and will not smoke in designated smokefree areas. That is why such a big focus of the policy is on education and signage.
"People can be relied upon to act responsibly when it comes to smoking in public. Experience in other areas with smokefree outdoor public places policies so far has been that the public are quick to comply."
However, the Northern Advocate noticed several people smoking in the CBD near the signage, including Paul Borich from Kaiwaka.
"I saw the signs and I saw someone had ripped one off. I'm always giving up so [the policy] doesn't worry me. I'm waiting for my girlfriend who's shopping so what else am I going to do?"
Northland DHB Smokefree adviser Bridget Rowse reinforced the policy is "educative rather than punitive".
"It's not about punishing smokers/vapers, it is about providing positive role-models and protecting our tamariki,'' Rowse said.
"Smokers are generally very considerate and will smoke outside of smokefree areas. However, if someone does light up in a smokefree/vape-free area, other users of that space will be empowered by the policy to ask them to either put their cigarette out or move away from the smoke-free area to smoke/vape."
She said signs and publicity will encourage the public to maintain a clean, healthy environment in areas that are primarily used by young people for sporting and recreation activity.
Professor of public health and co-director of Aspire 2025 for the University of Otago research centre Janet Hoek said by not allowing smoking or vaping in public spaces, it reduces exposure to both young people, who could be easily influenced, and ex-smokers.
"The more people that get exposed to smoking, the more normal it seems to them and it doesn't seem like the very high-risk behaviour that it is,'' Hoek said.
"Also, the exposure to seeing people smoking and smelling it can trigger a relapse for ex-smokers. By reducing the exposure and making places smokefree, it helps support those people who are going down that challenging journey of becoming smokefree."
She said, while the same applies to vaping, it is a harm-reduced option, though not harmless.
By creating these smoke and vape-free areas, it was contributing toward the 2025 smokefree goal, she said.
Owner of House of Fun and vape stockist Patrick Shepherd wasn't fazed by the policy.
"We're all right with it but I'm not happy about the ban on fruit-flavoured vaping products coming into effect in November 2021.
"They're popular with kids but we're strictly R18 and ID everybody who looks under the age of 25. We're also supporting local businesses by selling it."
Northland DHB and Cancer Society Northland carried out public consultation with the Whangārei community in 2016 and 2017 to gauge community support for the proposed policies to increase smokefree outdoor public spaces.
More than 1500 Whangārei residents responded to the survey, with almost 80 per cent supporting increased smokefree outdoor public spaces and 82 per cent in favour of smokefree outdoor dining.
Smokefree areas will also help to reduce the number of discarded cigarette butts, helping protect the environment and ensuring public spaces remain attractive and clean.
In New Zealand, more than 6 million cigarette butts are discarded into the environment every year ending up in waterways and entering the food chains of fish, birds and other marine life. Cigarette butts can take up to 25 years to fully degrade, releasing chemicals and toxins into the soil or water that surrounds them.
Smoking in Northland is related to 25 per cent of all deaths (47 per cent of all Māori deaths, and 18 per cent of non-Māori deaths). Smoking-related hospitalisations in Northland (1161 per 100,000 hospitalisations) are 1.5 times higher than the national rate.
For free Northland-wide stop smoking support and free nicotine replacement therapy, call Toki Rau Stop Smoking Services Northland 0508 TOKI RAU (0508 8654 728) or tokirau.co.nz
The Northern Advocate asked people in Whangārei CBD what they thought of public places being smokefree.
Wayne Radovanovich, Whangārei. "It doesn't worry me. I gave up five years ago. Let everybody do what they want to do."
Gary Bilski, Onerahi. "I'm against people smoking in public. I've sat next to people smoking and it's really offensive. Vaping is not so much but it tends to create a lot more smoke [vape].
Amanda Drake, 38, Whangārei. "I gave up when I was 21 when I was pregnant. I've got a weak stomach and, honestly, now, I just walk through it and feel sick. It's not good for kids and it's all about the youth."
Dallas Howe, Whangārei. "I agree with [the policy] because vaping is no better than cigarette smoking – they've both got health issues. They've managed to successfully ban smoking from some areas so I don't see how vaping couldn't align itself with similar policies. However, it's still the addiction of all addictions."
The worker logged 437 hours in five weeks - all of which was unpaid.