A city council in Sydney, Australia, has reportedly become the first to ban smoking near outdoor dining areas.
Mosman Municipal Council, which covers a large part of the city’s north shore, yesterday voted to ban smoking within 20 metres of all outdoor eating areas that are on public land – and the ban becomes effective immediately, in theory at least.
As reported by News From Abroad, smoking bans have already been implemented in New York, Norway and Ireland, but none of these bans have included outdoor areas.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald website, the Mosman ban will also extend to “entrances to public buildings and their balconies”.
The website quotes Mosman’s deputy mayor Andrew Brown as saying: “These days smokers are not allowed to smoke inside restaurants, so the outdoor areas of restaurants have become the smoke zone.
“Anyone who wants to dine outside has to suffer the toxic cocktail that you are forced to inhale when you sit with them. I am protecting the civil liberties of those that choose not to smoke.”
The ban takes effect today, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, though it will not be enforced until suitable penalties have been agreed.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
