Smoking has long been restricted in certain settings, mainly on the grounds of hygiene and safety. But the advent of evidence which unequivocally states that passive smoking harms the health of non-smokers (see Chapter 4), has brought the issue of smoking in the workplace and in public places into sharp focus. In June 1986 the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH & MRC) adopted the following recommendations made by the NH & MRC Working Party on the Effects of Passive Smoking on Health(1):
Council recommends that, in view of the evidence that passive smoking increases the risks of at least some diseases of childhood and adulthood, particularly disorders and diseases of the respiratory system, the following policies should be considered by health authorities in Australia as means of protecting the health of non-smokers:1. Development of procedures, regulations, or laws facilitating or requiring the restriction or prohibition of smoking:
(a) Within the work environment. The available evidence indicates that exposure to passive smoking is, on average, substantially higher at work than at home. An atmosphere free of tobacco smoke should be regarded as the workplace norm. Employers should be reminded of obligations to provide a safe working environment.(b) In enclosed public spaces, hospitals, restaurants and transport.
In recommending this policy, Council notes the apparently successful approach in some US States of declaring smoking to be prohibited in all public places and workplaces unless specifically permitted.
2. Explicit inclusion in smoking-related health education material of information about the known or suspected effects of passive smoking upon health. This material should assist decisions in the home (including decisions about ventilation) as well as in the workplace and in public places.
In making these recommendations, Council acknowledges that further research is necessary to confirm and elaborate these effects of passive smoking upon health. However, mindful of the delays involved, historically, in both accepting and acting upon the evidence of the serious health consequences of active smoking, Council considers that there is now sufficient evidence pertaining to the effects of passive smoking to require prudent public health action of the kind recommended above.
Since drawing these conclusions, the views of the NH & MRC have been confirmed by a number of other major international reports (see Chapter 4). Mainstream medical and scientific experts have sufficient confidence in the scientific evidence to be prepared to testify in court about the health effects of passive smoking. Also clear is the legal obligation of the employer to provide a safe working environment free of foreseeable and avoidable risks to health and safety for employees and others who may enter it. This obligation is enshrined in the state and territory Occupational Health and Safety Acts; and affirmation that the provisions of these acts apply to the health dangers of environmental tobacco smoke has been explicitly stated in Federal Parliament on at least two occasions. A number of workers' compensation cases concerning passive smoking have been settled in and out of courts in Australia and overseas.(2,3,4) The confirmation by a Federal Court ruling in early 1991 that environmental tobacco smoke was a cause of disease, has effectively formed a precedent on the issue (see Section 6.3 below). The point was reinforced with the decision in the case of Mrs Liesel Scholem in mid-1992 (see Section 6.4 below), and the declaration by the US Environmental Protection Agency in December 1992 that environmental tobacco smoke is a Group A carcinogen (shown to cause cancer in humans)(5)(see also Chapter 4, Section 1).
In early 1993 legislation was proposed in New South Wales to ban smoking in enclosed workplaces, but was subsequently shelved. In September 1994 the ACT Smokefree Areas (Enclosed Public Places) Act was passed. This legislation imposes a general prohibition on smoking in enclosed public places, with most public places required to become smokefree by the end of 1994. Exemptions are provided for theatrical performances and certain common areas of residential facilities such as hostels and nursing homes. Restaurants and cafes have until late 1995 to become smokefree and must designate a minimum of half of their seating area as non-smoking until that time. Smoking is not prohibited in licensed premises, such as pubs, clubs and bars, until mid-1997. Amendments to the original legislation provided for exemptions to be issued to restaurants and licensed premises which comply with the current air conditioning and ventilation standard (AS1668.2). Exempt premises are required to designate most of their public area as non-smoking (at least 75 per cent for restaurants and at least 50 per cent for licensed premises).(6) The amended legislation has been strongly criticised on the grounds that it makes inappropriate use of an air quality standard which was intended as a measure of comfort rather than of health and safety.(7)
The Federal Government has announced its intention to make public enclosed spaces smokefree by the year 2000, except those with special exemptions.(8) Many government and private bodies have introduced total or partial bans on smoking in the workplace and other public places (see Sections 6.6, 6.11 and 6.12 below). Workplace smoking bans have generally received strong support among public and private sector workers, and the unions. Despite the best efforts of the tobacco industry to derail debate and trivialise the issue, there is no doubt that they have lost the battle scientifically, legally, and in the public arena.