Why vapers don’t know they are also banned from non-smoking areas

Sydney councils are looking at updating their “no smoking” signs to explicitly mention e-cigarettes after concerns that vapers do not know that the prohibitions apply to them too.

A legislative amendment in 2018 expanded all NSW non-smoking legislation – such as rules banning the use of cigarettes in indoor public areas, cars and outdoor dining areas – to include the smoking of e-cigarettes.

A “no smoking or vaping” sign in Hudson, New York.Credit: Bloomberg

Last week, Mosman Council resolved to review its public smoking policy and signage with the view of incorporating more contemporary practices, such as vaping.

Data from Revenue NSW shows the number of fines issued for public smoking-related offences has declined over the past five years, despite a significant rise in vaping during this time.

The number of people who smoke cigarettes in NSW has dropped to record levels, although vaping is increasingly popular. The latest NSW Population Health Survey showed the number of people aged 16 to 24 who were current vape users more than doubled to 11 per cent in 2021.

Alecia Brooks, manager of Cancer Council NSW’s tobacco control unit, said the laws prohibiting vaping in certain locations were clearly not being enforced – or even well communicated – with people vaping on the bus, in train stations, outdoor eating areas of pubs, and indoors in shopping centres and cinemas.

“When people smoke a cigarette in a place they shouldn’t, it only takes a few seconds before someone asks them to stop because the social norms have shifted to a point where smoking is no longer an acceptable social behaviour, and we are acutely aware of second-hand exposure,” she said.

“We aren’t there with vaping yet. And as more people vape around others this can increase perceptions that vaping is acceptable or normal and lead to an increase in use or uptake.”

Brooks was hopeful that attention to more targeted signage could bring a shift, with work underway with NSW Health to review smoke-free signage with the hope of reducing confusion.

“Unlike smoking, the impacts of second-hand vapour are still not firmly established,” she said.

“But if we draw on our learnings from smoking, you could imagine that inhaling an array of second-hand chemicals and toxins can’t be good.”

Mosman Council’s decision comes after Northern Beaches Council considered updating signage in a February meeting of its community safety advisory committee. However, it decided to wait for NSW Health to give its advice on an industry standard.

While the Inner West Council has not changed its signage, with dedicated no-smoking areas automatically considered to also prohibit vaping per the NSW law, a spokesperson said its staff used an “educative approach” when required to enforce this.

Since 2019, the University of Sydney has updated some of its non-smoking area signs on campus to clarify that they also prohibit vaping.

“Not all external signage has been replaced to specifically mention vaping, however it will be included as signs are renewed as a matter of course,” a university spokesperson said.

“No smoking” signs at UNSW, UTS and Macquarie University do not make explicit mention of vaping.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Cancer Council last week, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he was concerned by adults vaping freely in areas where the practice is technically prohibited.

“Where there’s a no smoking sign in a particular area, people don’t understand that vaping is caught up by the same regulatory requirements,” he said.

Hazzard, who is retiring after next weekend’s state election, said he would be open to more stringent restrictions governing the sale and marketing of vapes in NSW – particularly plain packaging laws – if endorsed by health advice.

Labor health spokesperson Ryan Park told the forum he would also be open to further regulation of vaping if supported by health advice.

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