Council endorses smokefree campaign

Cafes and restaurants in Masterton who opt to join a three-week smokefree outdoor dining campaign will do so with the blessing of Masterton District Council.

Councillors agreed to endorse the campaign -- planned to start on May 31, World Smokefree Day -- which is being organised by Compass Health Wairarapa with support from the Wairarapa Smokefree Network.

Although a vote around the table agreed to endorse the campaign, councillors stopped short of agreeing to become a partner in the promotion.

Endorsing the initiative will mean the council will make a statement supporting smokefree environments and praising cafes and restaurants that join the campaign.

The campaign's aims are to allow cafes and restaurant-owners a chance to assess the impact of smokefree outdoors dining on their businesses, to gather data by surveying people using the smokefree businesses and to highlight the issue of smokefree dining across New Zealand and internationally.

Both South Wairarapa and Carterton District Council are to be approached by the organisers with the offer of either partnering or endorsing the campaign.