Thursday 11 February 2016
Think big on smokefree areas. Smokefree outdoor policies are a powerful tool to denormalise smoking, help smokers quit and make cities healthy.
This symposium will update participants on the growing evidence of the effectiveness of such policies in enabling successful quitting, and the experience of implementing new types of policies. The increase in the types and size of smoke outdoor areas will be detailed, along with the national and international state of play, practical ideas and successes.
We are delighted to confirm as a guest speaker, Councillor Richard Foster from Melbourne. Councillor Foster is an Australian leader in the creation of smokefree pedestrian areas, and has helped drive the growing downtown smokefree outdoor policies in Melbourne. He is the chairperson of the People City portfolio of Melbourne City Council.
This one-day event provides an opportunity to learn about the policy design, adoption and implementation of smokefree outdoor areas, with presentations by a range of local authority, iwi and public health experts. The New Zealand government has adopted the aim of a smokefree New Zealand. This forum will help DHBs, local and iwi authorities and others to take part and benefit from this move.
Topics covered
The symposium will help you answer questions about:
• The evidence for smokefree outdoor area policies
• The success of smokefree outdoor area policies internationally
• What are benefits of the various policy options for smokefree outdoor areas? Are they a good investment for local authorities?
• How are smokefree outdoor areas policies implemented?
Style of course
Symposium – a mixture of expert speakers, participant presentations and discussion (at least 12 minutes discussion for every 18 minutes of speakers).
Our symposium format will enable all those involved in advocating for and creating such policies to talk about their experiences and to learn from a wide range of experts. Time will be set aside for short presentations by participants and to allow discussions on each presentation.
Who should attend?
Anyone who is interested in changing the health of their cities. The forum will be of particular use to DHB, iwi and local authority staff, councillors and health advocates, as well as those from the child welfare, worker safety, business and environmental sectors.
Draft timetable
| Time | Session | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30am | Registration | |
| 9am | Session 1: National/international state of play | George Thomson, Louise Marsh, Richard Foster |
| 10:30am | Morning tea | |
| 11am | Session 2: NZ experiences | Participants and invited speakers |
| 12:30pm | Lunch break | |
| 1:30pm | Session 3: Smokefree campuses, smokefree events and other successes | Lindsay Robertson, participants |
| 3pm | Afternoon tea | |
| 3:30pm | Session 4: Solving the problems | Discussion |
| 5pm | Finish |
Teaching staff
The forum will be convened by George Thomson, of the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, who has been researching smokefree outdoor policies since 2008.
Louise Marsh, University of Otago
Lindsay Robertson, University of Otago
Councillor Richard Foster City of Melbourne Council.
Note: For information on current NZ smokefree area research see Smokefree outdoor area research
Course cost and registration
$300 early bird, $400 after 22 December 2015.
A 50% discount is available to full-time students, those unwaged and University of Otago staff.
