Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD
Bondi beach, a popular tourist hangout is under the scanner for smoking. The Waverly Council came up with a unanimous decision to ban smoking within 10 meters of the outdoor cafés in this popular tourist spot starting July this year.
This will ban all smokers from smoking while sitting outside the cafés at Sydney Bondi Café Beach starting this July.
Councilor Kerryn Sloan says that the ban is for tourists who are not following the anti-smoking campaign attitude of the Australian. "These smokers usually come from other countries that still have smoking as a socially acceptable norm." He said. "They usually sit down, grab some coffee, have a bit of a chain smoke and move on. It's the same story for the locals. They tend to use this place as a smoking area, not an eating area."
Simon Chapman, professor of public health at Sydney University, said evidence showed the level of cigarette smoke in crowded outdoor areas could be comparable to that found indoors. ''Particularly on a still day, if you're sitting next to people [who] are smoking you get a lot of smoke,'' he said.
This smoking ban comes on when there is a strong move towards manufacture and introduction of self-extinguishing ''fire safe'' cigarettes. From Tuesday, all cigarettes manufactured in, or imported into, Australia will have to comply with the new standard.
''Reduced ignition propensity'' cigarettes are designed to self-extinguish when the smoker is not puffing, minimising the risk of a discarded butt starting a fire. By September 23, all cigarettes sold in Australia will comply.
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