Sue Kedgley: Smoking ban must be across the board

As a concerned mother, occasional restaurant-goer, and someone who cares about the health of New Zealanders, I believe it is vital that the Smoke-Free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Bill banning smoking in bars, restaurants and all other workplaces is adopted in full.

But I am worried that last-minute attempts by politicians to water down the bill and exempt clubs could derail it.

Returned Services Associations and private clubs have been lobbying MPs since the bill was reported back to the House last month from the health select committee. The clubs argue their memberships will drop if people cannot smoke at their local clubs. Some MPs are taking up their cause and are pushing for amendments to exempt them from the legislation.

It would be unfair and inequitable to make bars smoke-free but not clubs. It would make bars more likely to try to flout the law and may provide clubs with a competitive advantage.

Almost every submitter to the select committee agreed that if we were to ban smoking from cafes and bars, the ban must be across the board and apply equally to all establishments so there is a level playing field and everyone's position is preserved.

Most importantly, however, exemptions would undermine the bill's main objective, which is to protect all workers from second-hand smoke. Protecting some hospitality workers and not others simply does not make sense and would make a mockery of the legislation.

The fears of bar and club owners that they will lose patronage are ungrounded. I predict they will be pleasantly surprised by the increased patronage that smoke-free environments will attract.

New Zealanders are sick of coming home from a night on the town with their hair and clothes reeking of smoke, and want to be able to go out and enjoy a drink, meal or dance without risking lung cancer.

In a Health Sponsorship Council survey, 88 per cent said they would be more likely to visit bars, nightclubs and pubs if they were smoke-free.

In California, where smoking in pubs and restaurants was banned first, there was some resistance initially but Californians don't think twice about it today. In fact, most revel in the fact that they can go out for a meal or drink without having to go home stinking of cigarette smoke.

Pro-smoking protagonists who say that smokers should be left alone to smoke themselves into an early grave without any interference from anyone else ignore the fact that every time they smoke a cigarette indoors they put the health of any other person who happens to be around at risk.

The horrifying fact is that smokers do not inhale two-thirds of the smoke from a cigarette. Exhaled second-hand smoke contains more than 40 chemicals that are known to cause cancer. Cigarettes also contain more than 600 additives, including bromide gas and ammonia.

The Heart Foundation estimates that people exposed to second-hand smoke are 30 per cent more likely to be at risk of a heart attack and face a higher risk of developing the same fatal diseases that plague smokers.

Experts estimate that 388 New Zealanders die needlessly each year because of exposure to second-hand smoke. Given this overwhelming evidence, it is astonishing that Act MPs can claim the health effects of second-hand smoke are dubious.

For those who query why the Green Party wants a smoking ban in bars and restaurants when we favour cannabis law reform, let me point out this bill would apply equally to anyone smoking tobacco or anything else.

The Green Party acknowledges that any smoking is injurious to health so we want this legislation to be accompanied by high-profile education campaigns pointing out the health hazards of all smoking.

It would be a tragedy if politicians seeking to pander to clubs derail this legislation. Everyone, smoker and non-smoker alike, will benefit from the bill. It will protect us all from the hazards of second-hand smoke and give us for the first time clean, unpolluted air in dining and drinking establishments.

Smoke-free zones do not work. The toxic particles present in cigarette smoke mix in the air, making it impossible not to breathe them in, even if you are seated some distance from a smoker. It's like trying to have a non-chlorinated zone in a swimming pool by allowing chlorine only at one end.

Most importantly, the bill will mean hospitality workers will no longer be forced to choose between their health and their jobs. Nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed by the Health Sponsorship Council agreed workers have a right to work in smoke-free venues.

The rights of non-smokers have been ignored for far too long. Second-hand smoke is a serious yet avoidable killer, and the 75 per cent of New Zealanders who do not smoke deserve to be protected from it. I cannot wait for the day when I can finally go out and enjoy my coffee in a smoke-free cafe without risking my health.

* Sue Kedgley is a Green MP.