Chadwick Steve: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Chadwick Steve: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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STEVE CHADWICK (Labour—Rotorua) 
: 
 I move  
That the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. This bill builds incrementally on the foundations of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 which was a world leader at the time by extending protections against tobacco smoke to all workers in indoor workplaces where two or more people work in a common airspace. The primary purpose of the bill is to extend the protections for workers volunteers and the public in the Smoke-free Environments Act; to reduce the harm caused to individuals by their smoking particularly harm from exposure to second-hand smoke; and to further restrict minors’ access to smoking products and the visual influence of smoking in front of minors; and to promote a smoke-free lifestyle as the norm. 
The 1999 legislation was instrumental in what we see today in terms of changing public attitudes towards smoking and the ever-decreasing rate of smoking amongst New Zealanders. Many New Zealanders now take smoke-free offices for granted and the time has come to extend those same protections to those who work in factories warehouses schools hospitality venues taxis shared work vehicles and the like. This bill will bring the legislation up to date with overwhelming public opinion—90 percent support—that is calling for comprehensive protections from second-hand smoke. We know how far we have come when we travel as New Zealanders to other countries and experience the contrast of cultures that have yet to embrace smoke-free lifestyles. 
This bill I would like to stress is not an anti-smoker measure. The Health Committee heard smokers tell us that they recognise all too well the risks of smoking for themselves and the people around them. About 80 percent of smokers want to quit. Many smokers also recognise that tobacco is one of the most addictive substances there is and that it may take several attempts finally to succeed in quitting a habit that almost everyone began as a young person. I feel the utmost compassion for the 700000 New Zealanders who are addicted to nicotine most of whom want to quit but find the effort daunting. Perhaps the enactment of this bill and its provisions which will provide 100 percent smoke-free indoor social venues and allow for future pictorial health warnings and for better consumer information about what it is in these products will allow them to live healthier fuller smoke-free lives. So the bill is not anti-smoker; it is about improving health and occupational health. It is about protecting all of us from the deadly effects of second-hand smoke which is a significant health hazard in the workplace and a significant public health hazard that kills an estimated 388 people each year—about the same number of people who die on our roads each year. 
As a midwife I know the impact of tobacco smoke on human health only too well. I have seen only too frequently the impact that second-hand smoke can have on our most precious resource for the future—young babies and children. Hopefully this bill will change attitudes so that there is less smoking in the home thus providing a healthier environment. In relation to young people although this matter has received much less public attention the bill makes important inroads into limiting the visibility “cool” factor or access by young people to smoking products. Cigarettes will be limited in their visibility in stores and in access to them by young people whether through illegal store sales friends family or vending machines. We have already reduced the smoking rate among young people to 21.3 percent. Let us keep that number coming down particularly for young Maori by sending them positive smoke-free messages. 
We all stand to gain from this law. Workers will not be exposed to a significant workplace habit. Employers will benefit from reduced accident compensation premiums reduced staff turnover and absenteeism and healthier staff. Smokers will benefit from clear boundaries about where they can and cannot smoke and may feel more supported if they decide to quit. Taxpayers will benefit from long-term further decreases in smoking rates and in the billions of dollars that tobacco costs our society each year not to mention the benefits for families and whanau of having fewer loved ones being sick or dying before their time. 
The bill was considered at length by the Health Committee and I would like to thank all the committee members both in the past term and in the current term for the way they carefully considered the bill and the enormous number of submissions. We heard 397 submissions and 7656 formal submissions were received. I would be remiss if I did not also thank the current and past clerks and staff of the committee for their work on this bill. I wish to acknowledge publicly the Ministry of Health officials who have provided absolutely outstanding service and advice often within very short time frames as well as parliamentary counsel researchers and all those people who helped us put this bill together. Congratulations on a job well done! 
I wish to thank the many hundreds of people and organisations that took the time to make submissions. Even those who do not agree with the final outcome of the provisions of the bill I thank for their input. The anti-smoking debate is one that has garnered a lot of public interest and debate in recent years and we on the committee benefited from hearing a wide range of information and views. 
In particular I want to thank the non-Government organisations members of which are sitting up in the gallery today that represent public health concerns about smoking. They have taken a lot of flak in recent times but let us remember and remind ourselves that they are genuine hard-working people in small and highly committed organisations who have been most helpful in providing expert advice that has been enormously valuable to us and for the benefit of all New Zealanders. Their input made it possible for the committee members to be confident that they made informed decisions on the issues with all the relevant information before them. I hope their future is assured. 
I am disappointed about the public debate in recent times which has diverted attention from what the bill is all about—the public health of New Zealanders. The focus has been on a National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research study of the Bream Bay Club which as I indicated in a press release was a misdirected effort because it contributed nothing to the debate about the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill. Just because a ventilation system can provide fresh air does not mean ventilation is able to remove carcinogens released into the air from cigarette smoke. I find it ironic if not creative that the same groups that argued before the committee that ventilation was hopelessly expensive and unfair are now the ones that have tried to sell ventilation as the answer to our prayers. 
I wish to thank those in the Opposition parties who have been steadfast in their support for the health benefits of this bill. Their commitment in the face of overwhelming misinformation and rhetoric is to be applauded. The Green Party has demonstrated absolute support and has been unswerving in its commitment. I would like to thank MPs with personal and professional experience of the harm of tobacco smoke. I also want to mention Maori MPs who have seen and experienced the ravaging impact of tobacco-related diseases in their own whanau. 
Finally I want to thank and publicly acknowledge those who started the long 4-year journey to this point. I refer to Tukoroirangi Morgan who introduced the bill in 1999 and to the Minister of Health Annette King who significantly extended the original bill’s cover. The Minister has been supported unswervingly by Tariana Turia and Damien O’Connor who have given the bill their utmost support. The Prime Minister has also provided incredible leadership and knowledge of public health to support this bill. The previous sponsor of the bill who is sitting in the House today Judy Keall could never be forgotten because she said “It’s all or nothing.” I am proud to have followed in my esteemed colleague’s footsteps in sponsoring this bill and considering its provisions as the chair of the Health Committee. 
In conclusion it is time to embrace the cultural change that has already shifted New Zealand to being a predominantly smoke-free society while continuing to encourage and support those smokers who wish to quit. It is only logical that the current smoke-free provisions are extended to include all workers particularly those who are most at risk from exposure. I applaud the vision in the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill and encourage and support its measures which will go a long way to reducing the health and safety hazards of tobacco smoke in the workplace for all workers and all New Zealanders.