Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990

Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 as at 25 May 2004

From 10 December of 2004 the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 requires all internal areas of workplaces, licensed premises and certain public enclosed premises to become smoke free.

The purpose of these changes is to prevent the detrimental effect of other people's smoking on the health of people who do not wish to smoke there by preventing exposure to secondhand smoke.

The internal areas of all of these premises are required to be smoke free and smoking will only be legally permitted in open areas. Proprietors may choose to prohibit smoking in their open areas as well.

In this document the Ministry of Health offers general advice about the requirements of the Act and how it will be applied.

It provides examples of internal and open areas: these examples provide guidance, in particular, to architects who have been asked to design 'open areas' that comply with the Act.

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Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (Word format, 469 MB) Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (Word format, 469 MB)

Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (rich text format, 2.1 MB)

Internal and Open Areas under the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (PDF, 284 kB)

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Related information
Smokefree law changes

Tobacco Control and Smoking

National Drug Policy website