Smokers frequenting cafes and restaurants in Melbourne’s Causeway Lane will be forced to butt out this October if a proposed alfresco non-smoking ban is passed by the Melbourne City Council.
Smokers will have to butt out in Causeway Lane if the proposed ban goes ahead.
Council is set to vote on the trial in September, which, if passed, will see a complete ban on smoking for six months from October 1 in the popular city laneway located off the Bourke Street Mall.
Melbourne City Councillor Richard Foster says Melbourne has been lagging behind other eastern seaboard cities when it comes to implementing smoking bans in alfresco dining areas.
“We have been too slow to introduce smoke-free areas in alfresco dining areas and it’s something we need to correct,” he says.
Queensland and the ACT have banned smoking in outdoor dining areas, while Western Australia and NSW have committed to following suit in 2015.
Study finds fewer Victorians are smoking
The ban was announced shortly after a survey by the Cancer Council found just 13.3 per cent of Victorians are smoking on a regular basis, a record low for the state.
Cr Foster says despite these statistics, the proposed ban addresses a serious health risk, which affects non-smokers as well as smokers.
“It’s a fundamental right of the 86 per cent of us who choose not to smoke to have fresh air around us when we’re eating, drinking and enjoying ourselves out and about in Melbourne,” he says.
A study published in medical journal Tobacco Control, found that hospitality staff is particularly vulnerable to being exposed to harmful second-hand smoke.
Quit Victoria calls for state-wide smoking ban
Quit Victoria spokeswoman Jessica Craven says the proposed ban doesn’t go far enough.
“It’s a trial and it’s only located in a very restrictive area in the city,” she says. “Smoke-free outdoor dining and drinking areas is not a new concept. Victoria is the only state in Australia that hasn’t either already implemented or committed to such a ban.”
Public opinion appears to support the idea. A survey conducted by the Cancer Council Victoria in 2010 found 70 per cent of Victorians approved of smoking bans in outdoor dining areas, including 41 per cent of current smokers.
“We are at a stage where the community support is obvious, so we’re hoping the State Government is going to pay attention to that and introduce a state-wide ban to protect Victorians from the harms of second-hand smoke,” she says.
Causeway Lane business owner Phillip Skliros, whose cafe and bar, Gordon’s, has been serving customers for 16 years says many of his patrons do not appreciate a side of second-hand smoke with their lunch.
“Customers are always offended by smoking in the laneway,” he says.
Mr Skliros says the proposed ban will not affect his business at all.
“I don’t know why they didn’t just blanket ban smoking when it was banned for inside restaurants and pubs,” he says.
