Tasmania, Australia - to ban smoklng in all outdoor dining areas..

March 21, 2011 - The hospitality industry has reacted angrily to the Tasmanian government's plan to ban smoking in all outdoor dining areas. The legislation would also make it illegal to smoke within 20 metres (65.6 feet) of outdoor sporting events and in bus and pedestrian malls.

Tasmania - GETTING EVEN TOUGHER ON TOBACCO, March 18, 2011.

Steve Old from the Hospitality Association says the government has not listened to the industry's concerns. "My question to the government is, when are you actually going to start standing up for the hospitality industry, instead of kicking it?"

But Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne says the changes are designed to make smoking appear abnormal. "I make absolutely no apologies for wanting people to give up smoking," she said.


The Cancer Council has welcomed plans to ban smoking in more public places in Tasmania, but has raised concerns about one element of the proposed legislation.

Darren Carr of Cancer Council says he is concerned about a proposal that allows approved officers to confiscate cigarettes from children. "I am confident that the Health Department and police will work through finding ways to appropriately credential people to do that," he said. "And see that it's done in way that doesn't actually cause more problems than it's trying to solve."

When individuals sit in outdoor dining venues where smokers are present it is possible that they will be exposed to substantial SHS (second hand smoke, passive smoking, involuntary smoking, environmental tobacco smoke) levels. Significant increases in exposure were observed when monitors were located under overhead covers, and as the number of nearby smokers increased. The role of outdoor smoking restrictions in minimising exposure to SHS must be considered. ( Secondhand smoke exposure (PM2.5) in outdoor dining areas and its correlates Melissa Cameron et al., Tob Control 2010;19:19-23)

Selling Tobacco In Tasmania

References http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/19/3168284.htm, Smoking ban angers industry, ABC News, 3/19/2011.

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