Smoke Free Zones
Manly Council is proud of taking a leading role in the introduction of smoke free outdoor areas in NSW. This experience is now available to other Councils looking to implement smoke free outdoor areas.
History to Council’s introduction of smoking bans
Council’s initial Council resolution regarding Smoke Free Zones was taken on 17 May 2004.
Manly Council at its Ordinary Council Meeting resolved to ban smoking on:
- Manly's ocean and harbour beaches;
- Within ten metres of all children's play areas under Council's care;
- On all Council playing fields and sporting grounds; and
- For all events run or sponsored by Council
A Smoke Free Working Party was formed in July 2004 and their aim was to prepare a smoking ban implementation strategy, which included an education and awareness campaign and advice regarding the installation of signage. The Working Party included representatives from each of the surf clubs on Manly Beach and the Cancer Council NSW.
Building on the initial Council resolution, on 23 August 2004 Manly Council resolved to:
- Erect internationally recognised no-smoking signage; and
- In positions deemed appropriate by the General Manager, to ban smoking in the vicinity of playgrounds and playing fields and on Manly beaches.
On 18 October 2004 Manly Council further resolved to extend its smoke free zones to include:
- Areas within ten (10) metres of the entrances to Council owned or managed buildings, as well as balconies or covered areas of those buildings:
- Al fresco dining areas on public land; download list of cafes and restaurants with smoke free outdoor areas here:
Cafes and Restaurants with Smoke Free Zones (26.14 KB)
- That this policy be enforced in any leases, licences or other estates that apply to Council owned and managed lands and properties.
Manly Council called for Expressions of Interest from creative agencies for the development of the Smoke Free Zones education and awareness campaign in September 2004. SHOROC, a regional organisation consisting of Mosman, Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Councils, joined Council in this process and the Smoke Free Zones logo and slogans were developed for the campaign.
In addressing both the health and environmental issues associated with smoking, the campaign focuses on the benefits of having Smoke Free Zones in creating cleaner, healthier and happier spaces for people to live and visit.
The philosophy behind the Smoke Fee Zones campaign is for Council to engage community support for Smoke Free Zones, rather than adopting a heavy handed enforcement type approach, so compliance is largely self-regulated.
The commencement of the public education and awareness campaign began with the slogans “Cleaner. Healthier. Happier” and “These are the only butts we want on our beaches”. The Smoke Free Zones campaign involving Manly, Mosman and Warringah Councils was launched at midday on Wednesday 1 December 2004.
On 23 April 2007 Council resolved to extend the Smoke Free Zones to include within bus shelters and Council owned parking stations. On 19 November 2007 Council resolved that, in the interest of better community health and amenity, Council bans smoking on Council land within ten (10) metres of any public hospital building or boundary.
Other Smoke Free initiatives
Other initiatives taken so far include:
- The development of the Smoke Free Zones logo, which is available for other Councils to use.
- The establishment of a website with information on the Manly, Mosman and Warringah Councils smoke free initiatives and links through to their Council websites.
- The installation of signage using the international symbol for no smoking at entrances to all beach areas, with particular attention being made to the Ocean Beach. Smoking is not permitted on the sand of any Council beaches.
- The installation of signage at children's playgrounds on Council land and at Council's playfields and sporting grounds.
- Making Manly Swim Centre a Smoke Free Zone.
- Operating all Council’s events, including the annual International Jazz Festival and the Manly Food and Wine Festivals as smoke free events.
- The inclusion of smoke free clauses in all agreements with restaurants using Council land for al-fresco dining.
- Promotion of the bans through Council’s Safe Summer campaigns, Council publications, Council stationery, loudspeaker announcements on Manly Beach.
- Survey of the awareness of the smoke free bans via Council’s annual Customer Satisfaction surveys. Public awareness of the bans has averaged at 92% over past 7 years.
- Survey of alfresco dining operators on Council land July 2009.
- Assistance with the design of a Smoke Free Outdoor Public Spaces kit for local government in conjunction with the Cancer Council NSW, Heart Foundation, Local Government and Shires Associations and other Councils and participation on the Smoke Free Outdoor Areas Working Party with the same organisations.
The success of smoke free alfresco dining on Council land
In 2011 Council completed a comparison of the number of alfresco dining operators in Manly. The number of operators renting Council land for alfresco dining has increased from 33 in 2004 to 48 in 2011, an increase of 45%. The total area rented has also increased by 28%.
This is a great indication that smoke free alfresco dining has been a success for both proprietors and customers in Manly.
2009 Alfresco Dining Proprietor Survey
In July 2009 Council conducted a survey of all alfresco dining operators renting Council land. The phone survey of 36 out of 40 businesses was conducted in order to assess how the implementation of the outdoor smoking ban has been received by business operators and diners alike, with the results showing an overwhelmingly positive response to the introduction of the ban.
More than 85% of those surveyed said that implementing the ban was not difficult with many business owners attributing that to the fact that Manly is already a very health conscious area.
The survey found that business owners and managers felt that most customers (67%) “liked” or were “very happy” with smoke-free alfresco areas in cafes and restaurants, with 25% of customers being neutral and only 8% not liking them.
Nearly 80% of business owners and managers indicated that once the ban is explained to diners they give a mostly positive or accepting response.
Banning smoking under the Local Government Act
Legal advice to Council confirmed that under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005, Council has the power to:
- Erect suitably worded and strategically placed notices in “public places”, including public reserves, Crown reserves, public bathing reserves, public baths, public swimming pools, public parks and public roads within the local government area of Manly prohibiting smoking;
- Serve, by means of an authorised person penalty notices upon any person who fails to comply with the terms of any such notice;
- Demand the name and address of any person reasonably suspected of failing to comply with the terms of any such notice;
- Remove from community land any person who fails to comply with the terms of any such notice, and;
- Otherwise prohibit smoking as a condition of entry to any place owned or occupied by Council within the local government area of Manly.
Resources
The Smoke Free Zone logo and slogans were developed with the thought of them being used throughout other Council areas and are available for use by other Council’s in helping promote their Smoke Free Zones.
For more information please send an email to records@manly.nsw.gov.au.
Manly Council has been involved in the development of a Smoke Free Outdoor Area Resource Kit for Local Government. The Kit has been developed by ASH, AMA, the Heart Foundation and The Cancer Council of NSW and has been endorsed by the Local Government and Shires Association of NSW. The kit provides guidelines, information and practical resources for Councillors and Council staff in making Council outdoor areas smoke free. The second edition of this Kit was released in July 2009 and contains a cd of signage examples for Councils to use in smoke free outdoor areas. To download the Kit click on this link:
Smoke Free Outdoor Areas Kit for Local Government
To monitor the implementation and progress of smoke-free policies, the Heart Foundation has been conducting annual surveys of all 152 Councils across NSW since 2007. More than half NSW Councils now have smoke free outdoor areas in their LGA’s.
To download a copy of the most recent survey results click here:
For further information on Manly’s Smoke Free Zones please contact Council's Manager Customer Services and Special Projects, Jo Bramma, on telephone (02) 9976 1757 or via email to records@manly.nsw.gov.au