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Implementation of the Smoke‐free Environments Act (2003 amendments) in New Zealand primary schools

Implementation of the Smoke‐free Environments Act (2003 amendments) in New Zealand primary schools Implementation of the Smoke-free Environments Act (2003 amendments) in New Zealand primary schools Helen Darling, Anthony I. Reeder Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand Andrew Waa Health Sponsorship Council, Wellington, New Zealand In 1990, legislation was introduced in New Zealand to help reduce the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke (SHS) in the workplace and to monitor and regulate the promotion and sale of tobacco products. Employers were required to prepare a written policy that provided protection from SHS for non-smoking employees.1 NZ schools, as workplaces for staff, are governed by boards of trustees who, as employers, were obligated to develop, in consultation with employees, a written policy on smoking and to display it prominently. Further, employers had to ensure that prominent signs were erected to indicate where smoking was, and was not, permitted. This 1990 legislation only applied to indoor environments and did not contain any specific provisions for education institutions. The SFE Act was amended in 2003 to require all schools and early childhood centres to ban smoking at all times (Section 7A, SFE Act 1990): “to prevent the detrimental effect of other people’s smoking on the health of young people who are being taught or cared for in registered schools or early childhood centres” (Part 1 Section 4 (c), SFE Act 1990). The amendment also recognised that schools were more than places of employment and that students could be influenced by the observed behaviours of adults and other students. One of the purposes of the amended Act was: “to prevent young people who are being taught or cared for in registered schools or early childhood centres from being influenced by seeing other people smoke there . . .” (Part 1 Section 4 (b), SFE Act 1990). Prior to the 2003 amendment to the SFE Act, a study of smoking restrictions in NZ primary and intermediate schools found variable compliance with legislation and inconsistency in smoking restrictions in a national random sample of 209 schools. 2 2006 VOL. 30 NO. 1 Comparison of policy detail and questionnaire responses indicated overestimation by school respondents of smoking restrictions within their school. A later study of NZ secondary schools found poor compliance with the SFE Act.3 From January 2004, the amended 1990 legislation required all NZ schools to ban smoking at all times in buildings and grounds. Data were collected from one staff member from 136 of 150 randomly selected primary schools from throughout NZ and included questions regarding the ease (or difficulty) with which the new legislation had been implemented in their school. Data on the implementation of the Act were available for 134 schools. Most participants (79.1%) reported no difficulty in implementing the Act. Participants who did report difficulties (19.4%) indicated that these related to monitoring and enforcing the Act within the school grounds ‘after hours’. Participants from seven schools reported difficulties because of staff that continued to smoke, participants from two schools reported difficulty in enforcing the Act with unco-operative members of the public, and staff from one school reported providing an ‘exemption’ to the school’s smoking ban during the school holidays. Earlier studies of primary/intermediate and secondary schools found variable compliance with the SFE Act 1990, prior to its 2003 amendments, although, for both of these studies, compliance was measured by the degree to which school policy met the requirements of the legislation and not the smoking bans within the school environment.2,3 Nevertheless, it is encouraging to find that the amended, stronger legislation requiring all schools to ban smoking within all school buildings and grounds has been implemented with little difficulty and will now ensure that most NZ children are educated in environments that are consistent with health education messages. Acknowledgement The Health Sponsorship Council was the primary contributor to the Youth Lifestyle Survey, with support from the Ministry of Health, Cancer Society of NZ, The Quit Group and the Social and Behavioural Research in Cancer Group, University of Otago. Dr Reeder and the Social and Behavioural Research in Cancer Group receive support from the Cancer Society of NZ and the University of Otago. Helen Darling receives support from the Health Sponsorship Council. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Wiley

Implementation of the Smoke‐free Environments Act (2003 amendments) in New Zealand primary schools

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1326-0200
eISSN
1753-6405
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-842X.2006.tb00096.x
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Abstract

Implementation of the Smoke-free Environments Act (2003 amendments) in New Zealand primary schools Helen Darling, Anthony I. Reeder Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand Andrew Waa Health Sponsorship Council, Wellington, New Zealand In 1990, legislation was introduced in New Zealand to help reduce the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke (SHS) in the workplace and to monitor and regulate the promotion and sale of tobacco products. Employers were required to prepare a written policy that provided protection from SHS for non-smoking employees.1 NZ schools, as workplaces for staff, are governed by boards of trustees who, as employers, were obligated to develop, in consultation with employees, a written policy on smoking and to display it prominently. Further, employers had to ensure that prominent signs were erected to indicate where smoking was, and was not, permitted. This 1990 legislation only applied to indoor environments and did not contain any specific provisions for education institutions. The SFE Act was amended in 2003 to require all schools and early childhood centres to ban smoking at all times (Section 7A, SFE Act 1990): “to prevent the detrimental effect of other people’s smoking on the health of young people who are being taught or cared for in registered schools or early childhood centres” (Part 1 Section 4 (c), SFE Act 1990). The amendment also recognised that schools were more than places of employment and that students could be influenced by the observed behaviours of adults and other students. One of the purposes of the amended Act was: “to prevent young people who are being taught or cared for in registered schools or early childhood centres from being influenced by seeing other people smoke there . . .” (Part 1 Section 4 (b), SFE Act 1990). Prior to the 2003 amendment to the SFE Act, a study of smoking restrictions in NZ primary and intermediate schools found variable compliance with legislation and inconsistency in smoking restrictions in a national random sample of 209 schools. 2 2006 VOL. 30 NO. 1 Comparison of policy detail and questionnaire responses indicated overestimation by school respondents of smoking restrictions within their school. A later study of NZ secondary schools found poor compliance with the SFE Act.3 From January 2004, the amended 1990 legislation required all NZ schools to ban smoking at all times in buildings and grounds. Data were collected from one staff member from 136 of 150 randomly selected primary schools from throughout NZ and included questions regarding the ease (or difficulty) with which the new legislation had been implemented in their school. Data on the implementation of the Act were available for 134 schools. Most participants (79.1%) reported no difficulty in implementing the Act. Participants who did report difficulties (19.4%) indicated that these related to monitoring and enforcing the Act within the school grounds ‘after hours’. Participants from seven schools reported difficulties because of staff that continued to smoke, participants from two schools reported difficulty in enforcing the Act with unco-operative members of the public, and staff from one school reported providing an ‘exemption’ to the school’s smoking ban during the school holidays. Earlier studies of primary/intermediate and secondary schools found variable compliance with the SFE Act 1990, prior to its 2003 amendments, although, for both of these studies, compliance was measured by the degree to which school policy met the requirements of the legislation and not the smoking bans within the school environment.2,3 Nevertheless, it is encouraging to find that the amended, stronger legislation requiring all schools to ban smoking within all school buildings and grounds has been implemented with little difficulty and will now ensure that most NZ children are educated in environments that are consistent with health education messages. Acknowledgement The Health Sponsorship Council was the primary contributor to the Youth Lifestyle Survey, with support from the Ministry of Health, Cancer Society of NZ, The Quit Group and the Social and Behavioural Research in Cancer Group, University of Otago. Dr Reeder and the Social and Behavioural Research in Cancer Group receive support from the Cancer Society of NZ and the University of Otago. Helen Darling receives support from the Health Sponsorship Council.

Journal

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health – Wiley

Published: Feb 1, 2006

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