Tourism Industry Supports Proposed Smoking Ban

Tourism Industry Supports Proposed Smoking Ban

The Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ) is pleased its advocacy on the Smoke-free Environments (Enhanced Protection) Amendment Bill has been adopted.

TIANZ brought to the attention of the Select Committee that the draft legislation included each individual accommodation room in the definition of ‘workplace’ and ‘common airspace’ and effectively required all rooms to be smoke-free.

This would have prevented accommodation providers from offering rooms to people who want to smoke unless they met strict requirements to separately ventilate each room offered to smokers - at enormous capital cost.

TIANZ calculated the value of the overseas tourist market who might smoke to be worth more than $1.3B per annum. TIANZ was concerned the proposed legislative changes would threaten at least some of this market.

TIANZ submission recognised the dangers of passive smoking but sought a balance in legislation which recognised the value and range of visitors to New Zealand.

The Health Select Committee considered TIANZ written and oral submission and has decided to exclude hotel and motel rooms from the definition of ‘workplace’.

If the Bill is accepted this decision will save the sector potentially millions of dollars in capital expenditure.

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