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Smoking or vaping at your venue

If your licensed venue has outdoor eating or drinking areas, or sells tobacco products, there are laws you must follow under the Tobacco Control Act 2002 and Tobacco Control Regulations 2002.

Smoking in outdoor areas

If your venue has outdoor eating or drinking areas, you must have a smoke management plan DOCX (230.1 KB).

This plan explains the rules and measures you have in place to meet your legal obligations.

Rules for smoking areas

Your outdoor smoking areas must follow these rules:

  • be no more than 50% of the total outdoor eating and drinking area
  • be clearly signed
  • have a buffer between smoking and non-smoking areas, this can be:
    • a smoke-proof screen at least 2.1 metres high, or
    • a 2-metre-wide gap.
  • not have entertainment such as live music, pool tables or gaming machines. There can be TVs and music, but cannot be more attractive than in non-smoking areas
  • no more comfortable or equipped than non-smoking areas
  • no service of food or drinks by staff.

Areas that must be smoke-free

Some places must always be smoke-free.

This includes:

  • food and drink service areas
  • shared accommodation
  • entrances and windows
  • air conditioning inlet areas.

Rules for selling tobacco products

If your venue sells tobacco products, you must follow strict rules to limit access and exposure, especially for children.

Sales and displays

You must not:

  • sell tobacco products without a health warning on the packaging
  • display tobacco products where they can be seen by customers either inside or outside the venue
  • advertise tobacco products in a way that can be seen or heard from a public place.

Price boards

If you use a price board, it must be no bigger than 1 square metre and only at the point of sale.

Must not:

  • have flashing lights or moving parts
  • be brighter than its surroundings
  • face a window or entrance, unless more than 2 metres away
  • be within 1 metre of children’s products.

Price boards can only show:

  • product names
  • sizes or quantities
  • prices
  • tar content
  • country of origin
  • barcodes or product codes.

Vending machines

Tobacco vending machines are only allowed in signed child-free areas.

Each vending machine must have:

  • a health warning
  • a notice saying tobacco sales to children are banned

Only one vending machine is allowed per bar area.

Tobacco point of sale

Each bar area can have one over-the-counter point of sale for tobacco.

This area must display the same signage as vending machines, including health warnings and legal sale notices.