Smoking is the greatest single preventable cause of death in NZ, causing a quarter of all cancer deaths. (1)
If cigarettes were invented today they would not be allowed onto the market. Expanding smoke-free areas are a vitally important way of denormalising smoking and promoting healthy lifestyles.
1. Looking Upstream: Causes of death cross-classified by risk and condition New Zealand 1997, Public Health Intelligence Occasional Bulletin Number 20, November 2004 (revised). URL: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/wpg_Index/Publications-Looking+Upstream