The society's Auckland health promotion manager, Beth Jenkinson, said overseas experience of bylaws showed smokers were more inclined to comply with them than with a voluntary approach. Bylaws also motivated smokers to quit. In New Zealand, only Wanganui has a smokefree bylaw. It applies to a number of parks with a maximum fine of up to $20,000.
Ms Jenkinson said: "We definitely wouldn't be looking at something like a $20,000 fine. We want to encourage people to quit and create a safe environment for people rather than it being a punitive measure. We want innovative approaches, which may or may not be a fine."
She said some Australian councils used warnings and fines of about A$100 ($107.91) for repeat offenders.
Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board chairwoman Lydia Sosene was wary of new fines that people in her area could ill-afford to pay, but said some smokers ignored smokefree signs so something more was needed.
"We would be supportive of a bylaw approach provided the evidence states it's going to work in such a way that is beneficial for the people that it affects."
See more stories on smoking-related issues here.
