-
-
Watch Video
-
Related
Health officials say Kiwis will eventually get used to a smoking
ban on beaches and public areas.
The move is being looked at by a parliamentary select
committee.
The call comes from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS).
They say Kiwis could get used to it - like they did when the smoking was banned in restaurants and bars in 2003.
"With the smoking ban in pubs and clubs, I think a lot of people will see this as an extension of that," says ARPHS spokesman Andrew Lindsay.
They are also calling for pedestrian malls to be smoke free.
Reaction from the average Kiwi is mixed with some, mostly parents, welcoming the new measures. They want smoking banned near sport fields and sand boxes where children play.
But others, like the Hotel Bristol Bar manager Scott Henshilwood, says it will hurt their business.
"It would effect our business, people would tend to stick to drinking at home where they can smoke," says Scott Henshilwood, manager of the Hotel Bristol.
Smoking is said to kill an estimated 5,000 New Zealanders a year.
