A broad stretch of inner-city Wanganui will be declared a smoke-free zone on October 1, assuming the district council endorses a recommendation from its strategy and policy committee.
The committee on Friday discussed a draft smoke-free policy prepared by a number of local health groups and then unanimously supported the policy.
The policy would cover all parks and playgrounds within the district, the city's central business core, and the riverfront zone including the River Traders' Market area. It will also extend to the "arts and commerce" zone, which takes in Queen's Park, the Old Town block between Taupo Quay and Moutoa Gardens.
The smoke-free working party has applied to the Ministry of Health for $27,000 in funding to create suitable signage indicating the smoke-free zones.
Associate Professor George Thomson from Otago University's public health department (Wellington), who has made a career of researching tobacco control, congratulated the committee for getting to this point. He said the policy would complement "a great downtown area and main street".