Smoking in Invercargill's CBD has been outlawed under a new council policy

Smokers will have to butt out of the CBD under a new smokefree policy adopted at a meeting of the Invercargill City Council on Tuesday.

The policy will cover the area of the city bounded by Dee, Tay, Deveron and Spey streets.

Council staff will work with the Smokefree Murihiku Coalition to develop signage using the new CBD branding to inform public of the policy.

Councillor Ian Pottinger queried whether the council was confident that it had done all it could to consult with affected establishments within the CBD.

He noted that council had not received submissions from businesses like Zookeepers Cafe and the Tuatara Backpackers for whom "their only available smoking position is out on the street."

Cr Darren Ludlow said council had approached businesses in the affected area to invite them to make submissions.

"The smokefree CBD policy was hardly done in secret," he said.

Cr Lesley Soper spoke in support of Ludlow, saying that there had been a month for the public to make submissions on the policy.

"We could endlessly delay any policy on the basis that there is somebody who might still want to submit on it." she said.

The policy also included a 12-month review period, allowing further opportunities for public feedback, said Soper.

Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt asked what would be done to enforce the policy.

Ludlow said that this was a policy, not a bylaw, and council would not be enforcing compliance but would empower people to ask smokers to move on.

"It's giving members of the public the power to say 'not here please'," he said.

The policy covers all smoking products and devices, including cigarettes, vaporisers and e-cigarettes.

Businesses that allow staff members to smoke behind their premises will be allowed to let this practice continue.