A survey of the smokefree status of pedestrian-only spaces in 10 New Zealand local government areas.

Aim: To describe the smokefree status and signage of outdoor pedestrian-only plazas/malls/boulevards in 10 New Zealand local government (council) areas.

Methods: The 10 council areas were a convenience sample. Council websites were examined for smokefree policies, and a systematic attempt was made to identify the five largest pedestrian-only sites with permanent seating in each council area (10 sites each for two larger cities). Field visits were conducted to all selected sites during January-May 2021.

Results: Smokefree policies with components covering smokefree outdoor plazas/malls/boulevards were common (80%; 8/10 councils), albeit with some gaps (eg, around signage and vaping policy). A total of 60 relevant pedestrianised sites with permanent seating were identified and surveyed. Of these, 63% were officially designated smokefree. Smokefree signage was only present in 15% (9/60) of all the sites and in 24% (9/38) of the designated smokefree sites. In these designated sites, the average number of smokefree signs was only 1.4 (range: 0 to 14). Issues identified with the signs included small size, being only a small part of a larger other sign, limited use of te reo Māori wording and not covering vaping. At sites where tables were present, 12% had ash trays on the tables (none at smokefree sites).

Conclusions: Smokefree plazas/malls/boulevards in this survey had multiple policy and signage deficiencies that are inconsistent with achieving the national Smokefree 2025 goal. There is scope to address these issues with an upgrade to the national smokefree law.