Background: In December 2004 legislation banning smoking in all indoor workplaces in New Zealand was implemented. Among the ways smoking bans could reduce smoking prevalence are by prompting quit attempts and reducing cues to smoke in hospitality settings. Few studies have investigated the effects of smoking bans on socially cued smoking. We assessed the impact of the 2004 legislation on smoking behaviour among hospitality venue patrons.

Method: Data came from annual cross-sectional surveys conducted by the Health Sponsorship Council between 2003 and 2006. Subjects were asked if they smoked more, about the same, less than normal or not at all in hospitality settings. The surveys included general and Maori population samples, which combined to 2000 to 2400 participants.

Results: Socially cued smoking reduced by greatly between 2003 and 2006. For example, among regular pub and bar patrons the proportion smoking more than normal in these settings reduced from 71 to 30%, and the proportion smoking less than normal or not at all increased from 13 to 46%. Changes were similar in men, women, Maori and non-Maori. No significant changes in patronage were observed. There were no changes in quit attempts among established smokers.

Conclusions: The smoking ban in hospitality settings reduced socially cued smoking, with little or no effect on patronage. Further investigation is required to determine longer term of the legislation on quitting behaviour.

Implications: Comprehensive workplace smoking bans markedly reduce socially cued smoking as well as second hand smoke exposure. In the longer term this is likely to lead to reduced smoking prevalence.