| | | Smokers - nowhere to hide |
| REACHING for a packet of cigarettes and lighting up may soon be harder than just finding that elusive lighter.
Mosman Council's recent decision to extend its outdoor smoking bans means the number of places to light up are becoming fewer and fewer.
Smoking on some of the state's best known beaches has been a no-no for years - now smokers in some suburbs will find just walking down the road with a lit cigarette could prove costly.
Smoking police - in the form of council rangers - will be patrolling the streets of Mosman after the council voted to ban smoking in all its parks, public squares, bus shelters and council-owned car parks.
Public footpaths and roads are safe - unless you come within 10m of a council-owned building.
Mosman has already banned smoking at its beaches, council-managed buildings, children's playgrounds and at public events. Anyone caught smoking in one of the restricted areas faces a $110 fine.
Mayor Denise Wilton yesterday insisted the council would not employ smoking cops to specifically enforce the ban - or even fine smokers caught having a drag.
She said the ban was "about education and gentle persuasion".
"We are not in the business of harassing people ... but I am an advocate of people's right to breathe fresh air," the non-smoker said.
"The only criticism we've had is that we have yet to fine anyone. We've have only ever cautioned people," she said.
Ms Wilton yesterday rejected claims by fellow councillor Andrew Brown that members of the public would be recruited to act as vigilante smoking cops.
"I would hate for that to happen. It is inappropriate to ask people in the community to do anything like that," she said.
In December last year The Daily Telegraph revealed smokers were happily puffing away on Sydney beaches despite it being prohibited.
Manly banned smoking on its beaches in May 2004, followed by Waverley, Warringah and Mosman councils. Despite smokers facing a $200 fine for lighting up on Bondi Beach, Waverley Council admitted it has yet to fine anyone - instead issuing cautions. Mosman and Warringah councils are also yet to fine a smoker.
In March last year, Fairfield Council launched its "Smoke Free Sportsfields and Playgrounds Policy", which banned smoking on its sporting fields. It also banned people from lighting up within 10m of children's playground equipment in public parks and car parks. Now one of its councillors wants to take it a step further and provide smokers with subsidised nicotine patches to help them kick the habit.
Councillor Lawrence White wants the council to take on an advocacy role and encourage residents to give up cigarettes: "We were recently advised that we were one of the 10 worst areas to live in because of the cultural smoking of our people. We've done a lot of work in the past to stop spitting, and I think we should be taking on more of an advocacy role when it comes to encourage people to stop smoking," he said.
He said this could include an educational campaign featuring bumper stickers and public warning signs, and even subsidised nicotine patches for those who want to quit.
Even your own home may not be safe from the anti-smoking push, with a Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal ruling last month threatening to set a precedent.
Residents of the Highgate apartments in Millers Point won a challenge to stop tenants Chris May and Linda Crosson from smoking inside their own unit.
One resident complained the smell of the tobacco coming from the pair's unit was so bad they were forced to sleep elsewhere on two occasions.
Cameron Murphy of the Council of Civil Liberties said the Mosman ban was "clearly excessive".
"Councils should be to balancing the interests and rights of everybody in the community," he said.
He said, rather than a blanket ban which discriminated against smokers, councils should be "creating public places for people who want to smoke".
"There are legitimate reasons to ban smoking in public places where it poses a health risk but that decision needs to be based on evidence and the decision by Mosman Council isn't based on any evidence," he said.
He said, while governments should be doing everything they could to discourage people from smoking, as long as it remained legal, those who were smokers should not be punished.
Tasmania and South Australia recently moved to ban smoking in cars carrying children under 16, with the South Australian Government threatening to hit people with on-the-spot fines ranging between $75 and $200.
Smoking in all NSW pubs and clubs is to be banned by July 1, with clubs and hotels spending millions to build outdoor smoking areas.
And, while smoking inside restaurants has been banned for years, the Local Government and Shires Associations' annual conference last November passed a motion to ban smoking while al-fresco dining.
LGA president and North Sydney Mayor Genia McCaffery said the motion -- which involved lobbying the State Government for legislative change -- has yet to be acted on.
While smoking in movie theatres was banned years ago, Australian anti-smoking authorities earlier this month called for a crackdown on actors smoking in movies.
The Cancer Council of Australia and the Australian Medical Association want movies which featuring smoking to automatically receive an R rating -- following a similar push by US anti-smoking authorities.
It's enough to want to make you reach for a cigarette.
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