Smoking and passive smoking
It’s illegal for children under 18 to purchase tobacco products. It’s also both illegal and irresponsible for any adult to give cigarettes to a child, or to buy cigarettes for them.
Never use cigarettes as a reward for children.
Discourage children from starting or continuing smoking. It is important to support and encourage children in your care to quit. Start by talking to their doctor and the care team.
Research suggests that smoke free environments, promoting nonsmoking as the norm and providing information about the dangers of smoking does help prevent children from starting to smoke. Positive nonsmoking role models and support to stop smoking can help them to quit. Many children will have experimented with tobacco by the age of 16 and this is a key age at which behaviour can be shaped and influenced.
It is well established that exposure to secondhand smoke poses a serious risk to health. Secondhand smoke is a cause of premature death and disease in children and non-smoking adults, with no amount of exposure being risk-free. For this reason, if you smoke, we encourage you to give up and we require that you do not smoke when children of any age are in your presence.
Please don’t leave tobacco products, matches or lighters accessible to children.
Visit these websites for more information.
Smoking in cars with children is illegal in all states and territories.
| State | Details |
|---|---|
| NSW | Smoking in a car with a child under 16 years present is illegal. NSW Health Fact Sheet |
| WA | Smoking in a car with a child under 17 years present is illegal. Department of Child protection and Family Support fact sheet |
| SA | Smoking in a car with a child under 16 years present is illegal. SA health fact sheet |
| VIC | Smoking in a car with a child under 18 years present is illegal. Victorian Government Health |
| TAS | All smoking is banned in smoke free zones, including in cars with children on board.TAS |
| NT | Smoking in a car with a child under 16 years is illegal. NT Government |
| QLD | Smoking in cars with a child under 16 years is illegal. QLD health |