SMOKE FREE ZONES

SMOKING could be outlawed in all public places as part of a push by councils.

A survey of 45 Victorian councils has found almost 70 per cent want the
State Government to legislate to stamp out smoking in public.

The ban would apply to shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, cafes and
sporting venues.

But the Australian Hotels Association is fuming at the idea, saying smokers
would be treated like criminals and there was no hard evidence that
cigarette smoke in pubs harmed non-smokers.

Thirty-three of the councils surveyed by the Quit campaign said they wanted
the government to ban smoking in public venues.

Most said that with sufficient funds, they would be happy to act as "smoke
police" to enforce a ban.

Many said they were not waiting for the government to act but were looking
at offering sweeteners to businesses that went smoke-free.

Moves include financial incentives and free promotions for restaurants that
ban smokers.

The push follows moves in the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia to
ban smoking to differing degrees in public places and eating houses.

It also comes as 300 counties across the United States have passed by-laws
banning smoking in public venues. This includes the entire state of
California.

The Victorian Government has not ruled out similar moves.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Rob Knowles said: "We have never ruled
these sorts of things out for the future, but we do not believe the public
is behind the move at this stage."

"Mr Knowles is passionate about the issue and would support well thought
out measures to prevent smoking.

"He has very strong beliefs regarding smoking and is very concerned about
certain aspects of it, like the incidence of smoking among young girls.

"He believes market forces are what drive cafes and bars to have
non-smoking areas."

Australia's chief anti-smoking lobby group, Action on Smoking and Health,
said it believed Victoria was under pressure to follow other states.

Spokeswoman Anne Jones said the hospitality industry faced problems with
smoking and was open to litigation by non-smokers claiming their health had
been injured.

"Victoria could introduce legislation which deals with smoking in public
places, specifically in the hospitality industry," Ms Jones said.

She claimed studies had shown California's ban on smoking in public places,
including bars, had not harmed business.

And she urged councils to use planning laws to encourage traders to ban
smoking.

For instance, councils could make deals with cafes that wanted planning
permits for outdoor seating by granting them permits in exchange for the
cafes banning smoking indoors.

But Australian Hotels Association chief executive Alan Giles said a ban on
smoking in all public places would be "over the top".

"We do not need to turn people into criminals," he said.

"We believe there is no need for legislation as it is becoming almost a
matter now of making provisions for smoking areas as opposed to non-smoking
areas."

Mr Giles also said there was no hard evidence that linked passive smoking
with health problems.

"There is no conclusive evidence which shows passive smoking causes cancer.

"The AHA has had no evidence presented to us which proves this," he said.