North Coast Health Promotion, Population Health, Planning and Performance Directorate, North Coast Area Health Service, Australia. annie.kia@ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au
In 1999, the NSW Health Smoke Free Workplace Policy directed that grounds of health sites would become smoke free, in addition to the existing policy requiring smoke-free buildings. This was one of the first attempts by any health service to exclude tobacco entirely from health sites. This task required the adoption of evidence-based management of tobacco dependence and changing the culture of smoking in the health service. There were many barriers to implementation.