Australia Victoria Frankston - smoking outdoors will be outlawed on certain streets..

February 10, 2010 - Frankston City Council (located in the State of Victoria) is preparing to impose blanket bans along three busy open-air shopping strips, including opposite the train station. Lighting up in the designated exclusion zones during the planned six-month trial could cost defiant smokers fines up to $110.

Frankston Mayor Christine Richards said yesterday the bid to banish cigarette smoke from streets would probably upset some people, but the health benefits were worth any flak. "We want to make people think twice about the way they conduct themselves in the public domain, and who they are affecting," she said.

"We want to make people think twice about the way they conduct themselves in the public domain, and who they are affecting," she said. "There are a huge number of deaths from tobacco in Victoria each year, more than from alcohol and traffic accidents and illicit drugs. "We want to do something about it." Almost 15,000 Australians die from tobacco-related diseases each year. (Australian population 21,374,000 - 2008 Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators)

Cr Richards said the hefty fines would be imposed by council officers, but details were still to be decided. Richards said the proposed laws were a glimpse of the future for Victorian smokers, and she hoped other councils would adopt similar measures.

But Alistair Wardle - the only one of nine councillors to vote against the trial - described the move as "a bit extreme". "My main concern is that it is an infringement of civil liberties," Cr Wardle said. "It's getting trivial, booking people for smoking on the pavement. It's open space. "If people see someone smoking, they can walk around them."

A report by council staff said the bans would be complicated and noted community concerns about over-regulation. "Smoking is a legal activity and people who smoke are not criminals, nor are they undesirable individuals to have in commercial precincts," it said.

Victorian laws already ban smoking in pubs, cafes, shopping centres, gaming venues and workplaces, on some beaches, on covered train platforms, and in cars carrying children.

Sydney councils may consider banning outdoor smoking if a similar prohibition in Victoria is deemed a success. Smoking anywhere in public could one day be a thing of the past for Australians.

Reference: Vics first to crack down on street smokers by Fiona Hudson, HeraldSun.com.au, 2/9/2010.