Fresh Air First: How one council reframed smoke-free areas and cut smoking by 42%

When local governments introduce smoke-free areas, the instinct is often to lead with rules, fines and enforcement.

No smoking.

Penalty applies.

You will be fined.

The City of Vincent in Western Australia chose a different path.

Instead of leading with prohibition, they led with an invitation: Fresh Air – You’re Welcome.

The result? A 42% reduction in smoking in five town centres within a year alongside rising community and business support.

This is a case study in how positive framing can shift behaviour without triggering backlash. 

The Challenge: Protecting Public Health Without Overreaching

The Smoke-Free Town Centres project, supported with funding from Healthway, emerged from City of Vincent’s Public Health Plan 2020–2025, which aimed to create healthier environments in some of Perth’s most vibrant precincts.

Before the project, smoking was permitted on footpaths and in busy entertainment areas unless restricted by state law. Council updated its local laws in 2022 to prescribe smoke-free areas and enable enforcement.

But the City faced a delicate balancing act:

• Smoking is legal.

• Local government public health action is relatively new in WA.

• Businesses feared losing customers.

• A small but vocal minority opposed Council “overreach.”

The City could have framed the initiative as a crackdown.

Instead, they asked a different question: How do we make this feel like a gain, not a punishment?

The Framing Choice: Sell the Benefit, Not the Ban

The campaign slogan was simple and deliberate: “Fresh Air – You’re Welcome. Enjoy a Smoke-Free Town Centre”

Rather than centering “no smoking” as the headline, the signage and messaging led with a positive shared outcome: clean, fresh, welcoming public space.

Enforcement was present, but not foregrounded. The Local Law enabled penalties, but the communication hierarchy made the benefit primary and the fine secondary  .

This was a clever choice. When public health messaging centres on restriction, it often activates defensiveness: “I’m allowed to do this…Who are you to tell me otherwise?”

When messaging centres on shared benefit, it activates something else - collective responsibility, protecting others and community pride (i.e. helpful values).

The City deliberately focused on reducing exposure to second-hand smoke, creating family-friendly spaces, and normalising smoke-free environments.

In short, they framed it as care for community, not control of individuals.

Education First, Enforcement Second

The City embedded an “education-first” approach into policy.

After adoption of the smoke-free areas, Council implemented a six-month education-first phase before enforcement began.

Rangers prioritised awareness and cooperation, directing individuals to move outside boundaries before considering penalties.

Towards the beginning of the project rangers engaged directly with 170 people smoking or vaping in prohibited areas, but over the full timeframe of the project only two infringements have been issued.

That is not a compliance-heavy enforcement model. The City made it clear: the law exists and penalties can apply, but we trust people will do the right thing by others without it.

The Results: Behaviour Shift and Growing Support

The evaluation data tells a compelling story.

The project goal was a 40% reduction in observable smoking in prescribed areas by March 2024. It exceeded that target.

One year after launch:

• 42% reduction in observed smoking (from 307 to 178 observations)  

• 42% reduction in cigarette butt counts (from 1039 to 602)  

At the same time:

• Community and business support increased from 61% before launch to 88% at the one year mark.

• Business support rose from 35% pre-project to 85% after one year .

• Only five per cent of business owners reported negative impacts.

That trajectory is telling. If the campaign had triggered backlash, we would expect declining support. Instead, acceptance grew.

Messaging principles in action

The campaign put several key values-based messaging principles into action:

1. Use values (not facts) to persuade

The campaign centred on fresh air, family-friendly environments and welcoming town centres, rather than enforcement action and threats of fines. 

To put that in Common Cause values terms, the campaign engaged Self-Transcending values (particularly Benevolence), and avoided foregrounding Self-Enhancement values (like Power and Wealth) that are often used in these types of campaigns. 

A the values science would predict, this helped activate pro-social behaviours and suppress anti-social and defensive behaviour.

2. Lead With a Positive Vision

The signage did not start with “No Smoking” or “Penalty Applies.”

It started with a picture of what the town centres were becoming: fresh, welcoming, family-friendly places.

This was another great choice. When policy is framed as restriction, people experience loss. When policy is framed as a vision, people can imagine themselves in that future.

Residents described being able to walk with their kids without passing through smoke. Businesses reported their terraces feeling more welcoming. The campaign invited people into a better version of their town centres.

Behaviour change sticks when people can see what they are moving toward, not just what they must stop doing.

3. Focus on Solutions More Than Problems

The City did not run a fear-based campaign about lung disease. Nor did it centre its messaging on rule-breaking or punishment.

Instead, it focused on practical solutions:

• Clear smoke-free boundaries.

• Education-first engagement.

• Partnerships with pharmacies to support quitting.

• Support for businesses transitioning their outdoor areas.

The emphasis was on what the City was doing to create healthier environments, not on blaming individuals.

When people feel attacked, they resist. When people feel supported and offered alternatives, they adapt.

The Bigger Insight

Public health policy does not have to sound like enforcement. It can sound like invitation.

“Fresh Air – You’re Welcome” reframed a regulatory change as a gift to the community. And the community responded accordingly.

For councils and health promoters grappling with how to introduce new restrictions without backlash, the lesson is clear: Start with what people gain. Not what they lose.