Smoking and vaping in cars with children will be prohibited from Sunday.
Anyone caught smoking or vaping in a vehicle with those under 18 will be fined $50 in a bid to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025.
Rangatahi in Wainuiomata are pleased it’s been given the boot.
“My mum would smoke in the car. I wasn't aware of the effects at the time. She used to wind down the window and eventually, she realised it wasn't good for me so she stopped,” Ihaia Waenga explained.
“For me, seeing it around the community is one of the reasons why I really wanted to get it around the campaign, seeing the young rangatahi being affected by it,” Joshua Sa’u added.
The campaign began 10 years ago at the Wainuiomata Rugby League Club after a study found the suburb had a high rate of smoking in vehicles with children.
“For us, it was really important so we wanted to achieve positive results,” campaigner Leah Clark said.
“The community has been behind us the whole time,” Waenga added.
The Government last year voted to ban smoking and vaping in cars due to the dangers of secondhand smoke.
In 2018, 26 per cent of Māori and Pasifika students were exposed to secondhand smoking in vehicles.
Waenga said his involvement in the grassroots campaign had a positive impact on his mother, too.
“She was really proud of me and she actually quit smoking altogether and that was good,” he said.
It’s also led to a halving in the rate of smoking in cars for the community.
“Just being able to see those little changes, making the right decisions in terms of smoking in the car - we don't want kids to be around this,” Sa'u said.
Clark said it’s “our right to make sure our children live in a healthy, safe environment”.
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