KEY POINTS:
Parks, sports fields, skate parks and playgrounds in Manukau will soon be smokefree zones - sort of.
A new policy adopted by the city council will lead to No Smoking signs being put up in areas and at events where children will be, discouraging anyone from using tobacco there.
Smokers can still light up if no children are around.
But the move to get smokers kicking the habit at parks will not be compulsory, and no one found puffing away on tobacco in areas where children are present will be punished.
Community policy and planning manager David Tucker said although the policy was not a legislative one, there were other ways to get people to stop smoking around kids.
"It's a policy of encouragement and education. It's not like you'll get a ticket or anything for smoking, but it's a policy encouraging people to stop. It's not a policy trying to manage people's health. It's trying to set appropriate behaviours and looking after children."
Educational programmes connected to smokefree and cancer organisations will also be running, with programmes looking at the dangers of smoking heading to schools, Mr Tucker said.
"There is some sort of peer pressure that will happen there," he said.
"It's kind of like if you see someone smoking at the park where children are and giving them a funny look - pressuring them to stop."
A Counties Manukau District Health Board report citing the 2006 Census showed that 22.1 per cent of people in its area smoked - higher than the general New Zealand rate of 20.7 per cent.
Action on Smoking and Health director Ben Youdan acknowledged that the policy had good intentions, but said there was a need to enforce the non-smoking rule, given tobacco's harsh impact.
"It really is kind of a serious health risk. Parents smoking at home and while they're at the park with the kids - if the child sees that, there's a major risk that they're going to grow up and start smoking."
