On this day in 1994, an announcement was made to effectively ban smoking in all enclosed work areas in Canberra.
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It came after an updated issue of the Occupational Health and Safety Code. The ban only took full effect after three years and it applied to all businesses that employed staff, regardless how small, in enclosed spaces to comply.
Owners and managers were given one year to introduce non-smoking policies for the workplace. Failure to develop these provisions could incur a possible maximum fine of $100,000 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It allowed for an OH&S inspector or any member of staff to lodge a complaint about the lack of compliance.
The renewed code aided employers by allowing for the workplace to be made smoke-free in steps. There were areas immediately designated as non-smoking, including conference rooms, food preparation and sick rooms, toilets, stairways, libraries and many others. Next, smoke-free work areas would be introduced.
Some of the draft guidelines brought focus on the strong medical and scientific link between passive smoking and ill-health in enclosed spaces, and employers were to take reasonable action to eliminate known hazards from the workplace.
It allowed some leeway for the development of designated smoking areas due to better ventilation but it would still be eliminated after three years. It would apply to all persons without exceptions, including the boss. A part of a broader strategy to tackle smoking in enclosed spaces, the government also introduced legislation on making restaurants smoke-free.
Today, Australia is by far the most expensive country to be a smoker due to its high rate of tobacco tax. The tax makes up more than 65 per cent of the total cigarette cost. The National Tobacco Strategy 2023-2030 aims to reduce smoking prevalence to less than 10 per cent by 2025 and 5 per cent or less by 2030.
Although the smoking strategy seems rather clear, the government has had to legislate against vaping due to its rapid prevalence among young people. It has been viewed as a national health crisis as data suggests vaping increases the chance of taking up smoking by three times.
