The City of Vincent’s (the City’s) Smoke-Free Town Centres project is driving meaningful and lasting change in one of WA’s most prominent and historic areas.
The ambitious initiative is part of the City’s 2020–2025 Public Health Plan. Its goal is to reduce community exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and create healthy environments that are free from smoking and vaping in entertainment precincts.
The project kick-started with Healthway funding and extensive community consultation to understand the views of the City’s stakeholders. The City’s Manager of Public Health & Built Environment, Prue Reddingius, said the project was designed for long-term impact.
“We wanted to get buy-in from the community and see that they were up for the journey with us. They helped us frame our smoke-free environments and, because of that, we focused on locations where people go to eat, play and be active,” Ms Reddingius said.
After reviewing feedback on boundary areas, the City updated its Local Government Property Local Law to ban smoking and vaping in designated areas, enabling rangers to issue infringements. Two months later, five smoke-free town centres were officially adopted in Leederville, Mount Hawthorn, North Perth, Beaufort Street and William Street.
An initial Healthway grant enabled the delivery and rollout of the project, including:
- employing a project officer
- working with the public and businesses
- delivering vaping workshops in schools
- supporting a public campaign with signage, brand ambassadors and events.
It was a true team effort, with the City’s dedicated rangers leading the way – acting as eyes on the street and often being the first point of contact.
After the first 12 months, the project achieved:
- a 42% reduction in the number of people smoking and in cigarette butt counts.
- 87% community support and 85% businesses support for the initiative.
Ms Reddingus says the City is particularly pleased with public’s response to its education-first approach.
“We’ve had a really good response – even from people we approach who have been smoking and vaping. At first, they may not be aware that they’re in a smoke-free environment, but once we engage with them, they’re keen to hear the messaging around it. They understand the reasons why, and we’ve had a great success in encouraging them not to smoke in our environment,” she said.
The City has committed to embedding the initiative in its next Public Health Plan and is sharing project insights with other local councils interested in adapting the strategy to their own communities.
