Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act marks 20 years

The Ministry of Health is today marking the 20th anniversary of the ground-breaking Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act (2003) coming into force.

The Act ensured that all indoor workplaces, including restaurants, bars, and clubs, became 100% smokefree.

“New Zealanders advocated for this change, and it brought about a fundamental shift where smoking was no longer socially acceptable inside,” says Deputy Director-General Public Health Agency Dr Andrew Old.

“Young people, who would have grown up with this change, now have some of the lowest smoking rates in the world.

“Latest data highlights that around 98% of children are no longer exposed to second-hand smoke inside the home - a 3% increase from 10 years ago - indicating a generational shift away from cigarettes in New Zealand,” he says.

“The Act was a pivotal step in making sure that, for the first time, workers and staff were legally protected from second-hand smoke.

“The denormalisation of smoking has also had positive effects on the health of all New Zealanders. In 2004, nearly 1 in 4 New Zealanders over 15 were cigarette smokers. As of 2024, that number is approximately 1 in 14.

“We know from the Global Burden of Disease study (2021) that tobacco attributable deaths for all causes is on a downward path,” he says.

New Zealand has seen some of the largest drops in smoking rates across the world in recent years, from 16.4% smoking daily in 2011/12 to 6.9% in the 2023/24 New Zealand Health Survey.