NURS5099 Promoting Health and Care in the Community - Smoke Free Legislation Assignment Help

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Building Healthy Public Policy

Currently, tobacco is considered the principal cause of death in Australia. Every year, almost 20,000 Australians die and more than 150,000 are admitted in the hospitals due to tobacco related disease (Stevenson & Ridolfo, 1998).

The first ban was adopted in 1998 to promote smoke free work environment and was implemented through the Australia’s Public Sector.
The government of Australia have implemented numerous bans and have shown remarkable leadership in this policy. The government banned smoking in domestic flights in 1987, regional buses in 1988, international flights in 1990 and on every international airline flight within the country in 1996 (WHO).
National Tobacco Strategy was formed in 1994 that was authorized by country’s ministerial drug policy group consisting of national, public, regional health and law administration ministers. Its principal goal is to lessen contact with environment tobacco smoke (ETS).
Chief factors of the strategy are:

In public and private workplaces and areas non-smoking environment should be promoted.
There should be a rule that no one has the right to smoke in an encircled public and private workplaces.
Smoking should be restricted in all areas through out the any industry equally.
Any area which is excluded should meet the criteria of ETS.
Conformity system must be on the bases of education and community sustenance (National Public Health Partnership, 2000).

The policy was implemented in Victoria regarding smoke free dining law implementation in 2001. The policy was made by the Victorian Department of Human Services with the help of government divisions, monitory establishments, industries, health groups and employers.
Many restaurants showed their concerns that this will affect the consumers and many would be discouraged to dine in their restaurants. However, the ban only involved smoking free atmospheres in restaurants only and not in other places like pubs and bars.
The state government of Victoria raised 500,000 AU dollars for spreading the awareness to private and public sector (Department of Human Services, 2000).
An advisory committee was formed compromising of the stake holders that were first taken into consideration for the development of this policy.
The campaign was conducted through different main communications factors:

Publishing of a booklet which stated the laws (Department of Human Services, 2001).
Awareness in schools and colleges regarding the smoking free policy.
Advertisements
Workshops held in different offices entailing private and the public sector both.
Website was made to spread awareness over the internet, so people outside of Australia will know about the hazards of smoking environments.

After five months of the implementation of the ban, it was reported that 93.8% of the customer didn’t break the law (Kriven & Miller, 2002).
Tobacco tax was imposed on the use of tobacco. In 2013, there was a 12.5% increase in the price of a pack. Moreover, from 2013 till 2016 there was be a 12.5% increase in the price every September which accounted for 60% increase in the price (Acosh, 2019).

Creating Supportive Environments

The Human Services group who developed this ban wanted to reduce the mortality rate in the country as the main cause of death in 2001 was tobacco. Along with the help of NGOs they were successful in creating a smoking free environment in the dining places.
This ban got the support from many groups such as health and union groups.
It was reported that if someone tried to break the law, people asked the smoker not to smoke on the premises.
Penalties or fine were imposed by the police officials and the government officials between 500 to 5000 AU dollars where smoking is permitted in a non-smoking environment, breaching notice was between 100 to 150 AU dollars.
Website was made to raise awareness for smoking free environment and how smoking effects non-smokers.
Due to ban of tobacco smoking in restaurants it was seen that it was also having an impact on the pubs where 67 to 73 percent ban increased in bars and 52 to 58 percent of the ban was also increasing in the hotels (WHO).
No money was spent by the restaurants to implement this law; according to WHO, 82% of the restaurants didn’t spent any amount of money for adopting the law.
The tax on tobacco by the government greatly reduced smoking in the country and through this it was recorded that 210,000 citizens were encouraged to quit. (Acosh, 2019).
The ban wanted to aim all the citizens regardless of their ages as the smoking was increased among the teens.
Those who have broken the law have to pay a fine, this will discourage them to smoke.
Chapman, Borland and Lal (2001) in their research surveyed 76 percent of the the dining places in South Whales right after the development of the ban stated that they haven’t seen any decrease in the customers and that there was an increase in 14% of the customers.