New smoke-free environments legislation stimulates calls to a national Quitline: Table 1

The call rate to New Zealand’s national Quitline service1 appears to be influenced by mass media campaigns,2 media publicity on the risks of smoking,3 and even international events.4 We examined the usage of this Quitline before and after the time that new smoke-free environments legislation became operational in New Zealand on 10 December 2004. This legislation extended previous legislation so as to completely ban smoking in bars, restaurants, and nearly all indoor workplaces. It appears that this new law has been well accepted by smokers.5 We analysed routinely collected data on smokers who registered with the Quitline to undertake a quit attempt, comparing the period from 1 December 2004 to 31 January …