This chapter is about smokefree areas and environments in Australia. It describes locations and environments where the population has either been exposed or continues to be exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke. A detailed overview of existing smokefree legislation is provided. Results of surveys indicating support for and opposition to smokefree environments are also outlined. Information about the health effects of tobacco smoke, the legal history and the influence of the tobacco industry can be found in other chapters.
As described in Chapter 4, tobacco smoke adversely affects both people who smoke and those who don’t smoke in indoor environments and in some outdoor environments. The most common terms used to describe exposure to tobacco smoke in non-smokers are passive smoking, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), secondhand smoke and tobacco smoke pollution. The term secondhand smoke (SHS) is used throughout this chapter, except where citing particular authors who have used other terms.
Smoking bans have been marked by incremental steps involving advances in scientific evidence and growing public acceptance and political resolve, which have converged to make legislative change possible.1 Another significant factor driving legislative change was concern about employer liability under occupational health and safety laws. As the scientific evidence continued to mount, exposure to SHS was recognised as both a risk to public health and a significant occupational health and safety risk. By the mid-1990s, smokefree policies had been introduced extensively in both the public and private sectors. All government offices (Commonwealth, state and territory) had become smokefree and restrictions had also been introduced in many shopping centres, hospitals, schools, childcare settings and entertainment venues. By 2001, smokefree public places legislation had been enacted in New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and South Australia (public dining areas only).
Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) provides the basis for international action to protect people from exposure to secondhand smoke, and has one of the highest rates of implementation of all tobacco control measures.2 According to the latest ‘WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic’ (2025) (‘the 2025 WHO Report’), a total of 79 countries have adopted smoking bans at best-practice level (up from just 10 countries in 2007).3
In 2017, the Guidelines for implementation of Article 8 were adopted by the parties. The Guidelines are intended to assist parties in meeting their obligations under Article 8 by identifying measures necessary to achieve effective protection from secondhand smoke. In particular, the Guidelines state that effective smokefree measures require the total elimination of smoking and tobacco smoke in a particular space or environment, noting that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.4
Despite sustained and gradual progress in this area, most of the world’s population remains unprotected by smokefree laws. Only 33% of people around the globe are protected by smokefree environments.3 Surprisingly, many high income countries still lack comprehensive smoking bans, with about 25% having either no laws or very weak laws in place to protect people from secondhand smoke in public places.3 According to the 2025 WHO report, these include Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Germany and Iceland. In October 2010, Finland extended its national smokefree law to places used by children and young people, public venues of residential areas, outdoor public places and hotel rooms, with a view to phasing out smoking by 2040 (since accelerated to 2030). However, the law in Finland still permits separate smoking areas in many indoor public places.5
A number of US states have enacted wide-ranging smokefree laws, including California and New York, however only 62.8% of the US population is estimated to be covered by such laws. Comprehensive smokefree laws have also been passed in a number of large cities, including Hong Kong, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore.6
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References
1. Bryan-Jones K and Chapman S. Political dynamics promoting the incremental regulation of secondhand smoke: a case study of New South Wales, Australia. BMC Public Health, 2006; 6:192. Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/192
2. World Health Organization. Driving the creation of smokefree public places. 2026. Last update: Viewed May 2026. Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/activities/driving-the-creation-of-smoke-free-public-places.
3. World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2025: Warning about the dangers of tobacco. Geneva 2025. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240112063.
4. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Guidelines for implementation of Article 8. Geneva, Switzerland 2017. Available from: https://fctc.who.int/resources/publications/m/item/protection-from-exposure-to-tobacco-smoke.
5. Finnish Supervisory Agency. Smoking Prohibitions. 2026. Last update: Viewed May 2026. Available from: https://lvv.fi/en/tobacco/smoking-prohibitions.
6. Breysse P and Navas-Acien A. The smoking gun: working to eliminate tobacco smoke exposure. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 2010; 20(5):397–8. Available from: http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/v20/n5/full/jes201034a.html
7. American Non-smokers' Rights Foundation. Overview List - Number of Smokefree and Other Tobacco-Related Laws. 2026. Available from: https://no-smoke.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/mediaordlist.pdf.