Victoria to ban smoking in outdoor areas

by Leon Gettler

People won’t be able to light up while dining outdoors under a new proposal being considered by the Victorian government.

The plan is to make beer gardens and outdoor areas of cafes entirely smoke-free.

The proposal has the backing from more than a dozen leading health and community groups.

This follows on from the Victorian government’s announcement last year banning smoking in outdoor venues where food is served from August 2017. People caught up lighting up would risk on-the-spot fines and a maximum penalty of $758 for people who break the law.

Still, the leaders of 15 organisations including the Australian Medical Association, Cancer Council Victoria and the hospitality workers union, United Voice, say the new rules need to be tightened up as they could lead to bans on diners eating outside.

They want the Andrews government to bring in the laws like those in Queensland which prohibit smoking anywhere food and drink is served but still allow licenced venues to set aside part of their outdoor areas for smoking.

Tony Bartone, president of AMA Victoria, said failing to ban smoking in outdoor drinking areas could leave hospitality workers exposed to secondary smoke, resulting in cancer, heart and lung disease, stroke, fertility problems and asthma.   

"This is not just about smokers," Dr Bartone told The Age. "Tobacco laws have huge implications for hospitality workers' health, as they spend a significant portion of their shift serving patrons and clearing empty glasses in smoke-filled areas."

But people who run the bars and cafes are not convinced.

Restaurant and Caterers Association chief executive John Hart said there was no evidence that hospitality staff were negatively impacted by second hand tobacco smoke in outdoor areas, claiming they were just as likely to get sick from car exhaust.

He said a Queensland style law wouldn’t work in Victoria.

"You don't have the same elements of ethnic populations to the extent that you do in Victoria, you don't have the cafe culture that we have in Victoria, it's a very different market. You can't compare the two,’’ Mr Hart told The Age.

5^th April 2016