"I Am Dunedin" may be the catchphrase of the city's campaign aiming to lure Aucklanders south, but "Please Keep Vices To A Minimum" may need to be added.
Smoking and drinking made headlines in the city this week - or rather, the hopes of city leaders to reduce both.
Otago
District Health Board chief Brian Rousseau wants Dunedin to consider banning cigarette sales, meaning smokers would have to travel out of town to stock up.
He sees it as a wider step in the smokefree legislation that might increase health benefits for city dwellers - giving up might be easier than driving 60km to buy cigarettes.
Meanwhile, police are about to end the 24-hour liquor sales trade. Off-licence sales will stop by 11pm and city hotels will close by 3am.
Dunedin is known for its liberal drinking environment, says police head of licensing Marty Hepburn, but the booze culture is tarnishing the city's image.
"Bloody draconian ideas," said second-year Otago University student Kate Fisher. "What's next? A wall? A moat? A ban on sex?"
Julian Huggins, a Dunedin-ite living in Auckland, said if drinking and smoking were restricted in Dunedin more people would probably just move to Auckland.
"Winter in Dunedin is bleak. You need your vices to survive."
