Public Relations Report: North Sydney Smoking Ban Initiative

This report examines the North Sydney Council's decision to ban smoking in the business district, analyzing it from a public relations perspective. It begins by providing an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction outlining the health issues associated with smoking and the council's initiative. The discussion section delves into the organization's overview, stakeholders (consumers, non-smokers, and sellers), and the issue statement based on public relations principles. It evaluates the impact of smoking on the public and the relationship between the organization, the issue, and the public. The report concludes by summarizing key points and referencing relevant literature, demonstrating the implications of the smoking ban on public health and the community. The council's initiative aims to create a smoke-free environment, addressing the health hazards associated with smoking and the need for preventative measures. The report highlights the support the ban received from the public and its significance in protecting public health.

Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
This paper aims to discuss the various issues that can be caused due to smoking. It also discusses
the North Sydney Council’s initiative on the ban on smoking and the reaction of the public on
this ban. In conclusion it summarizes the several points which are discussed in this paper.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
A brief overview of the Organization and its Stakeholders.........................................................4
Issue Statement on the basis of public relations perspective.......................................................5
Impact on public due to Smoking................................................................................................5
Relation between the Organization, issue and public..................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Use of tobacco is considered to have serious health issues which can also risk someone’s
life. The growing use of tobacco has become a primary concern for the people as they are
considered to be injurious to the health. In today’s day and age cigarette smoking has become a
worldwide phenomenon where young adults are seen consuming these and it has become very
popular among them. Cigarette smoking has always been considered to be injurious as it effects
the health of a person tremendously and the consequence of smoking can be dangerous. There
has been a lot of controversies and contentious activities surrounding cigarette smoking and the
governments have also been trying to prevent people from consuming these. The government of
Australia are coming up with new techniques and strategies in order to prevent people from
consuming cigarettes as it effects the health of individuals tremendously (Mendelsohn, Kirby, &
Castle, 2015).
This paper summarizes the effects tobacco and cigarette smoking has on individuals. It
also discusses the North Sydney Council’s decision to ban smoking in the business district and
whether it is for a good cause or not. In conclusion it provides the summary of what has been
discussed in the paper.
Discussion
Cigarette smoking is considered to be injurious to health as it effects the health of a
person tremendously. Therefore, the government and other organizations are trying to come up
with new strategies which can be implemented in order to prohibit people from consuming such
things which are harmful for the health. Recently the North Sydney Council has come up with a
technique or a strategy which involves that the business districts would not be used to light up a

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smoke or in other words there has been a ban on smoking in the business districts. Several people
favored this initiative taken by the North Sydney Council, as these individuals are aware of the
side effects caused due to cigarette smoking (Yong, et al., 2016).
A brief overview of the Organization and its Stakeholders
The Organization in this paper is the North Sydney Council which had taken an initiative
to ban smoking in the business districts. This initiative was supported and favored by various
people but the mayor of North Sydney stated that if anybody was found smoking in the business
districts they would not be asked to pay fines until the council evaluates whether the self-
regulatory ban imposed on the business districts are working or not. The key stakeholders of the
organization, which is the North Sydney Council, are the consumers who is involved in cigarette
smoking, the people who are being affected by it and the sellers who are involved in selling the
cigarettes.
The consumers are ruining their health by consuming cigarettes which are injurious and in order
to stop or prevent the smoking of the cigarettes the Council has come up with such a technique.
The consumers who work in the business districts go out for an afternoon smoke or during their
lunch break are used to consume cigarettes which are affecting the health as use of tobacco is
injurious. Thus, to prevent this consumption the Council has come up with this initiative of ban
on smoking in the districts (Burns, et al., 2016).
Another key stake holder are the people who do not smoke but due to the smoking
activities of others are getting affected by it since cigarette smoking effects the health of the
person consuming cigarettes as well as the person who is around someone who smokes.

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Therefore, it is becoming a primary concern for the organization to protect people from the
harmful effects of smoking.
The people who sells cigarettes are also significant stakeholders of the organization. If
the supply of cigarettes become less then individuals would not get easy access to the packets
and thus would stay away from smoking.
The stakeholders matter to the organization because these are the individuals who suffer
due to this activity and they are impacted by it. In order to create a smoking free environment
this initiative has been taken.
Issue Statement on the basis of public relations perspective
Whether the ban on smoking got community’s support at large and the decision given by
the North Sydney Council correct.
The ban on smoking by the North Sydney Council in the business districts has been an
initiative to create a smoke free municipality by the mayor. The initiative was adhered to and
accepted by most of the locals as this was considered to be a serious health hazard. The smokers
would not be able to smoke in public places according to the ban but they could enjoy a smoke in
a private property. The mayor also stated that if any person got caught smoking in a public place
would not be asked to pay fines but in future it might be the case after evaluating the self-
regulatory ban imposed on them. Majority of the people supported this initiative. It was not a
public relation stunt done by the public relation team according the Council as this initiative was
necessary since cigarette smoking is not only injurious to the health of the people who consume
cigarettes but it is detrimental to the health of the others as well.

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Impact on public due to Smoking
Smoking is considered to be injurious to the health. It does not only effect the health of a
person who consumes cigarettes but it is detrimental to the health of others as well who are in the
same environment. It is a health and environmental hazard. The initiative taken by the
organization was a good move as it involves the health of individuals and the organization’s
priority is to ensure safety of its citizens and people who reside in the nation. Therefore, the
priority of the organization would be to ensure the safety of its people. The organization’s public
are firstly, the citizens who consume cigarettes. Secondly the people who are getting effected due
to the smoking activities of others. Therefore, this initiative was taken in order to secure the
health condition of the individuals effected by smoking (Thomson, et al., 2016).
Relation between the Organization, issue and public
Smoking now-a-days have been considered to be a serious health hazard as it not only
effects the individuals who consumes cigarettes but it also effects the people who around them.
Therefore, this has become a serious concern for the government in order to ensure safety of
their citizens (Gould, et al., 2015). There are new techniques which are being brought up by the
organizations and the government in Australia to ban smoking. On such initiative has been taken
up by the North Sydney Council. They have imposed a ban on smoking in public places in the
business districts. It is a self-regulatory ban which has been imposed and after assessment by the
organization the fines for smoking in public places might be decided. This initiative has been
supported by the public at large as it was a necessity and the public has shown huge support for
the imposition of the self-regulatory ban (Passey, et al., 2016).

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the self-regulatory ban
imposed by the North Sydney Council has been appreciated and supported by the public and
smoking has become a health hazard which does not only effect the life of the people who
consume cigarettes but its effects are detrimental to health of people who areound people who
smoke. Thus, in conclusion, smoking and use of tobacco is considered to be injurious to an
individual’s health and it needs to be prevented.

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References
Burns, S., Hart, E., Jancey, J., Hallett, J., Crawford, G., & Portsmouth, L. (2016). A cross
sectional evaluation of a total smoking ban at a large Australian university. BMC
research notes, 9(1), 288.
Gould, G. S., Watt, K., McEwen, A., Cadet-James, Y., & Clough, A. R. (2015). Predictors of
intentions to quit smoking in Aboriginal tobacco smokers of reproductive age in regional
New South Wales (NSW), Australia: quantitative and qualitative findings of a cross-
sectional survey. BMJ open, 5(3), e007020.
Mendelsohn, C. P., Kirby, D. P., & Castle, D. J. (2015). Smoking and mental illness. An update
for psychiatrists. Australasian Psychiatry, 23(1), 37-43.
Passey, M. E., Longman, J. M., Robinson, J., Wiggers, J., & Jones, L. L. (2016). Smoke-free
homes: what are the barriers, motivators and enablers? A qualitative systematic review
and thematic synthesis. BMJ open, 6(3), e010260.
Thomson, G., Martin, J., Gifford, H., & Parata, K. (2016). Issues and options for progress
towards a smokefree city: A case study for smokefree outdoor policies.
Yong, H. H., Borland, R., Hammond, D., Thrasher, J. F., Cummings, K. M., & Fong, G. T.
(2016). Smokers’ reactions to the new larger health warning labels on plain cigarette
packs in Australia: findings from the ITC Australia project. Tobacco control, 25(2), 181-
187.