Editorial: Smoking ban lit up changes

Ten years ago,making bars smokefree was not welcomed across the board.

It may surprise some of you to know that 10 years ago I was old enough to buy an alcoholic drink - shocking, I know.

But some of my colleagues were probably in intermediate school when the Smokefree Environments Amendments Act came into force, banning the smoking of cigarettes in the workplace, notably in bars.

To those young'uns, a smokefree drinking establishment is the norm - they've never (I assume) enjoyed the thrills of coming home from the pub with their clothes reeking of secondhand smoke, coughing their lungs out and savouring the aromas as clouds of cigarette smoke waft through the air.

No, they're used to a social world where the smoking section is the footpath outside, where bar and restaurant staff don't have to endure the pointless habits of others, and where smoko rooms in the workplace are for cups of tea and crosswords rather than actual smoking.

It's unthinkable we'd have it any other way but, 10 years ago, the legislation was not welcomed across the board.

Parliament voted 68-52 for the bill, sponsored by then Rotorua MP Steve Chadwick.

We spoke to smokers at the time. "It's a load of rubbish. Most of the bar staff smoke here but you can't blame goody-goods like Steve Chadwick for introducing the law. If she didn't do it, someone else would have," said one.

Rotorua businessman Ray Cook said at the time that the law change was overdue - and that overseas evidence showed business in bars picked up wherever smoking bans were introduced.

Bar owner Gregg Brown told us this week that business had indeed improved after an initial slump after the ban.

You really have to wonder 1) why 52 MPs voted against the law change, 2) why it took so long to protect workers and patrons and 3) how long until smoking in public places is banned altogether.